Cricket’s newest and most exciting format, The Hundred, is back for the third year running and whether you hear this phrase all the time or not, it really is going to be bigger and better than ever.
The fast-paced and increasingly popular cricket series starts this month and our home team Manchester Originals get underway on Wednesday, 2 August, with the aim of going one better than last year and winning the whole thing.
Consisting of eight teams across seven of the UK’s biggest cities, The Hundred attracts the top women’s and men’s talent from across the world and it’s already becoming a sporting phenomenon.
With that being said, The Hundred 2023 is about much more than just cricket, so here’s everything you need to know to prepare for this year’s tournament.
Manchester Originals kick off their campaign on Tuesday, 2 August against Welsh Fire in Cardiff and, in case you weren’t aware already, one of the best parts about The Hundred is that every round is a double-header of men’s and women’s games, meaning you get twice the action.
Your first double dose of the Originals at their home comes on Saturday, 5 August, when the Manc team take on London Spirit at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground — one of Manchester’s favourite and most iconic sporting arenas.
The full Originals squad at The Hundred 2023 launch eventThe women’s team get underway at 11am on 2 AugustCredit: Manchester Originals
Live music and entertainment
In between the 100-ball games, the action doesn’t stop though; The Hundred is known for hosting top-notch live music and entertainment all day long and this year’s lineup is as good as any.
As well as highly impressive light shows and pyrotechnics before and after the games, you’ve got DJ sets from our resident DJ Roesh and live performances from artists at each matchday through The Hundred’s partnership with BBC Music Introducing.
ADVERTISEMENT
In terms of who’ll be playing in Manchester, you’ll be treated to local chart-toppers, The Lottery Winners, who are returning for the third year on the trot to serenade their city, as well as the likes of Manc-born R&B star, Akemi Fox, rising hip-hop and spoken word artist, Antony Szmierek, just to name a few.
You can see the full lineup for the four rounds of fixtures being played at the Emirates Old Trafford down below and make sure to check out our Kendal Calling interview with the Leigh legends while you’re at it too.
Sky Zero’s Summer
Working with Sky Sports’Summer of Sustainability campaign and Transport for Greater Manchester, Manchester Originals are encouraging fans to travel green to their home fixtures this season. Emirates Old Trafford is even allowing fans to recreate the ‘Walk of Fame’ to the wicket at Lord’s Cricket Ground, which will be filmed so they can share with their friends and family whilst inspiring them to travel green and play their part in protecting the sports they love.
Along withother green measures for 2023, they’ll be benchmarking on four of the matchdays to assess the impact of their sustainable efforts.
The Hundred remains an affordable day out with adult tickets starting from £15, under 16s just £5 and any kids under 6 are absolutely free. Ace, right?
This also means you have all the more pennies to spend on food and drink on the day, as well as copping your 2023/24 Manchester Originals kit in time for their first game at the Emirates Old Trafford on Saturday, 5 August, where we’re sure we’ll be treated to them smashing non-stop sixes.
It’s Manchester’s year, the men’s and the women’s, we can feel it. They certainly made a quick and easy job of it when we had a go at playing them…
A dedicated anime, movie and gaming concert with a live orchestra is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
Calling all self-proclaimed otakus, cinephiles and gamers: a huge concert experience will see dozens of musicians bring classic anime, film and gaming soundtracks and scores to life later this year, right here in Manchester.
The city is no stranger to events celebrating these beloved kinds of media, but you’ll struggle to find another bringing all of them together in one place.
Brought to us Mancs by KIN Music Entertainment, a locally founded arts, events and music label, this celebration of all things pop culture – and specifically, the music tied to it.
Entitled ‘The Kin & Fushigi Anime, Film & Videogame Orchestra’, this passionate collective serves as not only a platform for rising artists but also to hear some iconic sonic moments like never before.
KIN have created a large-scale live concert experience which will bring together a 25-piece pop orchestra made up of emerging professional performers and conservatoire graduates.
Aside from the impressive total of people behind this production to begin with, they also form an immersive hybrid orchestral and live band capable of bringing.
Speaking on the upcoming date, KIN Entertainment said in a statement: “We wanted to create the kind of live experience that many anime and videogame fans in Manchester have been waiting for — something cinematic, emotional and community-driven that brings these sound worlds to life with the energy of both an orchestra and a live band.”
Kin was founded by bassist, composer and ensemble performer Alejandro Urbina Diaz, who first brought his talents and wider interests over from Mexico to the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) here in the city centre at the age of 23.
Citing Manchester’s multiculturalism and cosmopolitan cultural fabric as a big part of his inspiration, he and his team have ended up carving out this niche for themselves, and now they’ll be playing this beloved music to Mancs at none other than the O2 Ritz.
Credit: KIN Music Entertainment (supplied via Academy Music Group Digital)
With new arrangements inspired by anime, cinematic and videogame culture, not to mention orchestral and even rock crossover twists – including both vocalist and rhythm sections, by the way – it’s set to be a highly unique experience that most will have never come across before.
This event itself is suitable for audiences aged 14+, although under-16s must be accompanied by an adult, and it’s taking place at the Ritz on Sunday, 26 July.
We’re not going to spoil any more details about the show for you, so which particular pieces of pop culture they reference will just have to be a surprise…
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via AMG Digital)
Sponsored
You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Manchester’s Deansgate
Daisy Jackson
There’s a brand-new menu of smokehouse-style BBQ dishes being served up on a sunny terrace on Deansgate.
Motley, the neighbourhood bar and restaurant on the corner of John Dalton Street, has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen.
That means they’ve got a whole load of new dishes, slow-cooked over hickory wood, that are bringing a taste of a Deep South BBQ to Manchester city centre.
The smokehouse-style meats are all seasoned in-house and cooked for hours, for a perfect fall-off-the-bone experience.
It might be an authentic American smokehouse menu, but it’s firmly British too, with most products locally sourced.
You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Deansgate / Credit: The Manc Group
Motley are calling on local suppliers like Althams Butchers (established since 1856) for their meat, plus greengrocers R Noone and Son, and Cheshire Farm for their real dairy ice cream.
Signature dishes on the new menu at Motley include slow smoked brisket, seasoned in Motley’s signature rub before being slow-smoked for more than eight hours.
There’s also a beef short rib with a chimichurri sauce, and a pork belly strip that’s seasoned with sage and onion and finished with a panko breadcrumb crust.
And for the veggies, there’s a vegan smoked veg kebab with courgette, mushrooms, bell pepper, sweet corn and red onion drizzled with homemade BBQ sauce.
Motley has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen / Credit: The Manc Group
Prices across the board start from just £16, served with beef dripping fries, rainbow slaw, pickles and homemade beef gravy.
As for small plates, you can expect short rib bonbons, homemade corn bread, spicy chicken wings, bang bang cauliflower, mac and cheese, and frickles.
House favourites like steak, vegetable hash, salads, and burgers will remain on the Motley menu.
Victor Gonzalez, food and beverage manager at Motley, said: “Our new signature smoked dishes are all crafted and seasoned in-house then slow cooked for hours over hickory wood to create rich and smoky melt-in-your mouth flavours.
“From our slow-smoked brisket to our home-made sides, everything has been carefully crafted to bring an authentic taste of the deep south to Manchester and we can’t wait for guests to try it.”
Motley can be found at 2 John Dalton Street on the corner of Deansgate in the city centre.
Danny Jones -
2nd August 2023 
