Lancashire County Cricket’s new investors and Manchester Originals’ majority owners have stated their desire to make the local Hundred team as big as Man United and City.
The Originals were courted by the RPSG (Rising Pune Supergiant) Group this month, with the Goenka family agreeing to buy up a 70% share of the club after LCCC sold part of their stake in the franchise.
Famously in charge of the Lucknow Super Giants over in the Indian Premier League and their Durban equivalents in South Africa, the possibility of not just a shiny new kit but the Originals being renamed the ‘Manchester Super Giants’ isn’t out of the question, though it would be much further down the line.
Although the conglomerate was initially interested in one of The Hundred’s Southern teams, London Spirit – and they were quizzed on this in a press conference on Friday, 14 February – Vice Chairman Shaswat Goenka’s answer was simple: “Lords is Lords but Manchester is Manchester.”
Expressing a huge amount of respect and admiration for the city’s competitive history, even dubbing it a “sporting powerhouse”, Goenka began by insisting that the opportunity presented is one to build a perfect marriage of culture and a love for cricket.
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Going on to identify sport as “one of the single biggest things that unites people across the world, regardless of race, colour” and so forth, he believes that while this is categorically not football, this new chapter could rival its prominence here in the UK and especially Manchester.
From there, he went so far as to argue that the stopping power is there and that RPSG “want the Manchester franchise in the Hundred to become the third biggest sports team in Manchester and challenge those two sports teams [Man City and Man United] in Manchester.”
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Quite the statement indeed – but one that was echoed by his two new key collaborators in Lancashire’s CEO, Dan Gidney, and Manchester Originals Chair, James Sheridan.
Gidney in particular was visibly energised by the prospect, reflecting on the moment he realised a great potential after seeing the fanaticism shown by the crowd during India vs Pakistan at Emirates Old Trafford for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Even with new leadership, Lancashire Cricket will remain 30% owners of the Manchester Originals. (Credit: The Manc Group/Matt Eachus)
Waxing lyrical about seeing “just how much supporters celebrate a single game of cricket”, he said the goal is to “inject some of that passion into Manchester and LCC“.
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Doubling down on Goenka’s statement, he continued: “We’re a bit conservative in the UK, we need to embrace the power of this sport; the fandom is off the scale – [it could be] stronger than the Premier League, in my opinion.”
All three executive speakers were also keen to reiterate that is by no means a complete takeover but rather a “joint venture” aiming to achieve a “true partnership” which could pose even more exciting cross-pollination in the future.
The consensus seems to be that further collaboration with the Super Giants is pretty inevitable and not just in regards to the men’s game but that this merging of brands presents a huge opportunity for young players and the women’s team too, the idea of players spending more time over in India and even some games perhaps being held still sounding very plausible.
Manchester Originals’ Chair, James Sheridan, did caveat the discussion by noting that “contracting isn’t straightforward in franchise cricket” but that conversations have at least started to take place” and, like Goenka, they don’t see this as a gamble but what is bound to be a “formidable partnership.”
He also reiterated the belief that Manchester is “probably the UK’s No 1 sporting city, adding “There you go, I said it”, and that the vision is to build the best team, the biggest fan base and the best culture – with this particular region being the perfect staging ground to do so.
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The Manchester Originals Chair and LCCC Chief Exec welcome the incoming co-owners. (Credit: Supplied)
Two players were present for the press conference as well, with Originals Women’s star Beth Mooney saying she had “admired The Hundred for afar” since it started and quickly knew she “100% wanted to be a part of it”, aiming to “help create a legacy with the Originals as the tournament.”
Men’s player Phil Salt welcomed the new ownership as the start of an “extremely exciting new era” that should help them “bring the best product to the UK”, reiterating that “being part of the right organisation is key.”
Although the investment is yet to be fully ratified by the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) and Lancashire made no bones about the arrears they still have on the books, Gidney was keen to label a lot of as ‘good debt’ and an investment in facilities and infrastructure, something which RPSG will only further aid.
One of the biggest outlays even prior to the new co-owners is the ongoing Farrington project but since the wider county region may have struggled to cheer on a Manchester team, the Originals and Lancashire, more importantly, will no doubt benefit from its completion.
The new sister stadium will be based over in Preston, offering a second home for what is crucially a Lancashire club. (Credit: Supplied)
Featured Images — Matt Eachus (supplied via Lancashire County Cricket Club)
Sport
You can win two VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show as part of a heartwarming Manc charity raffle
Danny Jones
Fancy bagging yourself the posh treatment at the biggest indoor gig and live entertainment venue in the city? Well, you can do just that by entering the latest Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, which is offering a pair of VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show.
All you have to do is simply do your bit for a crucial local cause.
It’s one that we’ve worked closely with in the past on many occasions: the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, which helps house rough sleepers across the region.
Teaming up with The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness – which was created specifically to generate funds for this ongoing crisis – as well as an upcoming community social, all you have to do to be in with a chance is put your name down for a cheap raffle ticket.
Writing in the caption of the post, the Mayor’s Charity has revealed that “Cross Club Social and The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness are teaming up to raffle off 2x VIP Co-op Live tickets to a show of your choosing.”
That’s right, not just any random show – you get to pick which one you fancy going along to in style.
With the 2026 edition of the annual fundraising relay event, on behalf of Greater Manchester’s homeless community, taking place this November (find out more on the GMMC website and keep up to date with us here at The Manc for the latest) they’re hoping to get the donations going nice and early.
For anyone unaware, the Cross Club Social, or ‘XCS’, has been going for a few years now; it brings together runners from all over the 10 boroughs for a big post-race party, all whilst raising money for charitable organisations.
DJs, karaoke, quizzing, three full rooms, an entire beer garden to themselves, and MUCH more. 👀
The next edition will be taking place this Friday, 19 June, over at the award-winning Fairfield Social Club, where an all-day party will run, pardon the pun, well into the night.
Better still, entrants into the raffle don’t have to wait long to find out if they’re a winner, as the lucky recipient is set to be announced the following Saturday (20 Jun) after the big shindig over on the XCS Instagram page.
The Mayor’s Charity team signed off by adding, “Good luck and together, we will end homelessness” – a mission that many Manc groups, especially, have been working so hard to make possible in recent times.
For instance, last year alone, the aforementioned 24 Hour Run, whose team will be in attendance and taking donations for at XCS 2026, generated a whopping £70k, and the total tally has now reached truly life-changing sums.
As for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, you can grab a ticket HERE for just a fiver to secure your chance to go along to a VIP night at Co-op Live. Fingers crossed!
Manchester United agree record streaming deal for new Amazon documentary TV series
Danny Jones
Manchester United have officially agreed a record sporting TV deal for a brand-new documentary TV series on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.
That’s right, Man United are getting the All Or Nothing treatment.
With the Red Devils finishing the 2025/26 season much stronger than they started it, they’re now set to invite a film crew into the dressing room and the newly refurbished Carrington training complex for the upcoming campaign.
Although there have been many United documentaries over the years, everything from big budget and smaller indie projects to fan-made, this new show looks set to give a more exclusive present day peak behind the curtain of the club’s modern-day set-up than ever before.
While it remains unclear whether or not this past term’s exploits – be it the drama of the Ruben Amorim era, or the upturn under Michael Carrick – are set to be included, as the official announcement teases, the Amazon series will provide behind-the-scenes MUFC throughout the 26/27 term.
There was an opportunity to accept this kind of coverage shortly after INEOS invested in the business, but Amorim put a rather public kibosh on the offer to preserve the backroom’s privacy and prevent any unnecessary intrusion.
Understandably, a lot of people agree with the decision, especially given the team was not just in another state of flux but at a crucial turning point under their then-new boss.
Taking a more old-school manager approach, it may have been seen as a sensible step, but it wouldn’t have mattered either way, as the Portuguese head coach (who now looks set to join AC Milan) was eventually sacked after just over a year in charge.
Nevertheless, many supporters are still reticent about the prospect of lifting the lid on an organisation that has famously seen plenty of turbulence. The fan base will just be hoping for a season to remember for the right reasons while the cameras are running for a reportedly record
Really not a fan of this – I wonder what someone like Carrick thinks of this? Additional scrutiny and pressure in his first full season as Head Coach.
The two most recent Premier League champions, Arsenal and Man City, have both seen seasons of Amazon’s now well-known docuseries before going on to win landmark titles, so perhaps it could be a good omen; who knows?
Conversely, Sunderland – who were infamously selected as one of the first subjects of this all-access kind of series – arguably ended up putting more unnecessary spotlight on their struggles.
As for those under the All Or Nothing umbrella, Spurs, Juventus and even the German international have also served as examples of how the big payout may not always be worth the bad press, with all three having gone through plenty of trials and tribulations in and around the respective versions airing.
Let’s just say that, reportedly ‘record’ sums or not, this could still go one way or the other…
While it’s still unclear as to the actual figure Manchester United will be taking home as part of the package with Amazon, this is yet another example of the steady Americanisation of association football, starting with the NFL and ice hockey before now drawing even wider audiences to the beautiful game.
Danny Jones -
14th February 2025 
