Manchester Originals men’s team just narrowly missed out on winning The Hundred this year, falling just 14 runs short of the mark as the Oval Invincibles lifted their first title to become 2023 champions in what was a record-breaking final.
After a thrilling eliminator to secure their spot in the final two on Saturday, with Jos Buttler leading an impressive charge to chase down 197 and beat Southern Brave by seven wickets, it looked as though the momentum was on the Originals’ side. They certainly got off to a good start on Sunday too.
Some impressive fast bowling saw the Invincibles stunted to just 34-5 after 36 balls, with Richard Gleeson finding Jason Roy’s edge, while both Paul Striling and Sam Curran were also caught behind for a duck as the Manchester side took three wickets from just 15 runs.
It was looking like an absolute masterclass at one point.
Not much to see here. Not much at all. Definitely not Manchester Originals taking 3️⃣ VERY early wickets.
However, it was the other Curran brother, Tom, who helped gain the Invincibles a foothold and after paring up with Jimmy Neesham, the duo smacked home an unbeaten 127 from 65 balls, the highest batting partnership ever in men’s Hundred.
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The Londoners went on to post 161-5, leaving the Manchester side with more work to do than they might have initially expected after their flying start, putting in a valiant display as they chased down 162.
Having already overcome a stronger tally less than 24 hours earlier, the Originals rightly fancied their chances.
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Unfortunately, with captain Buttler going out early, it was up to Phil Salt, Max Holden and Jamie Overton to do their best and try to stay in the game — and they very nearly did.
Ultimately, it was the Currans, Neesham and that incredible tally that gave the local team the lifeline as broke the previous record of 124 set by Dawid Malan and D’Arcy Short for the Trent Rockets in the inaugural Hundred tournament back in 2021.
It was the Originals’ second consecutive defeat in the final following a two-wicket loss to Trent Rockets in 2022 and a club third for Invincibles overall, with the women’s team having won the last two competitions.
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The women’s champions came in the form of Southern Brave this year, beating the Northern Superchargers to their first title by a comfortable 34 runs. As for Manchester Originals’ women’s team, they finished seventh on six points, only finishing behind London Spirit on net run rate.
Here’s the moment the Invincibles sealed the men’s title:
Another year, another step closer to that first Hundred title for the Manchester Originals, just not this time around.
Regardless, even with the weather against them throughout his year’s tournament, they never failed to entertain and we’re sure they’ll come back even stronger next year.
It’s been yet another great edition of The Hundred and it’s no surprise to see why this fast-paced format has already taken off in such a short space of time. Until next time.
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You can see the full highlights of Oval Invincibles vs Manchester Originals in The Hundred 2023 men’s final down below:
Featured Image — Manchester Originals/The Hundred (via Instagram)
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Bernardo Silva shares hilarious X-rated clash with John Stones before they were teammates
Danny Jones
This long weekend not only saw Man City manager and sporting legend Pep Guardiola bid goodbye to the club after a decade, but so did John Stones and Bernardo Silva, and the latter shared a hilarious story about an encounter before their bromance in blue.
Can’t lie, this one nearly made us spit out our tea when we first watched it…
Following the trio’s respective final games, this late May bank holiday Monday saw yet another City parade pass through Manchester, and as the party continued over at the Etihad Campus and Co-op Live for the afterparty, the boys got up on stage to say some parting words.
In Silva’s case, he chose to share, rather fittingly, some very choice words indeed, as he talked about his time playing against Stones when he was still in France.
From ‘little soft c**t’ to brothers lifting trebles together… football heritage.
Safe to say no one was expecting that particular expletive to come out of his mouth – we reckon not even most of the squad themselves.
During the Yorkshireman‘s first season at Manchester City, he came up against the creative midfielder in the Champions League when he was still playing at Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.
As you can see in the clip above, while it wasn’t the friendliest of exchanges back then, they soon buried the hatchet and chalked it off as nothing more than football.
Both fierce competitors in their own right, they look to be plenty soft with each other off the pitch ever since they became teammates.
So much so, in fact, that the duo ended up being the face of a pop-up Man City pub earlier this month, recreating the famous photo of the Gallagher brothers wearing the 1993/94 kits.
Credit: Manchester City FC (publicity pictures)
It’s plain to see in the clip how much love there is between the two, all these years later, and the story itself got a rapturous reaction from their peers and the crowd alike.
Silva has plenty of fans across Europe, both as a player and purely as a character; you only have to look at how Jack Grealish often reiterates his love for the Portuguese playmaker as a person and Premier League character, or even how pundits aligned with rival clubs like Gary Neville waxes lyrical about him.
And then we come to Pep himself.
Guardiola was rightfully given a fantastic guard of honour at the stadium itself on Sunday, with his speech making for an emotional moment for all those in the stands and watching at home, and City supporters at the parade made sure to give him a proper send-off.
Featured Images — Manchester City FC/CITY+ (screenshot via YouTube)
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Manchester’s The Grosvenor pub set to host huge England fan zone with Fireball for 2026 World Cup
Danny Jones
With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, there’ll obviously be tonnes of places showing the game, but there’s only one place that’s promising big screens, ball pits, pool tables, ping pong, a ‘peep show’ and plenty more right from the off: The Grosvenor.
It doesn’t hurt that they’re teaming up with beloved booze brand Fireball to spice things up.
We hope the goals come easily for England this tournament, but we can assure the drinks will be free-flowing regardless, over at The Grosvenor on Oxford Road Corridor here in Manchester city centre.
Located just on the corner of (you guessed it) Grosvenor St and the busy Oxford Rd stretch, they’re already getting geared up for tournament time…
Teaming up with the famous cinnamon whisky liqueur, the popular student and matchday spot is set to be busier than ever for this year’s World Cup.
As for what they have in store for the North American edition of FIFA’s biggest competition and the ultimate celebration of the beautiful game, besides numerous England flags hanging from the walls and that beautiful ceiling, there’ll be plenty of music, England anthems, giveaways and top-tier atmosphere.
In addition to lots of chanting from yourselves, no doubt, there’ll be DJ sets and merch up for grabs, as well as lots of big wigs, St George’s glasses and foam hands floating around the room.
Credit: The Grosvenor (supplied)
Of course, there will also be wall-to-wall coverage of the games across their many screens around the venue, not least of all the big box sitting pride of place above the bar itself.
With two large floors and more intimate seating options upstairs, there are plenty of ways to watch Thomas Tuchel’s team fly the flag.
Kicking off with the Three Lions’ opening clash against Croatia on Wednesday, 17 June, the venue will be transformed into a sea of red and white, and guests will also be treated to a completely FREE shot of Fireball every single time England score.
Don’t mind if we do.
Naturally, with stuff like this on offer, fans are encouraged to grab their tickets for the fixtures as early as possible so as not to miss out.
In their words AND ours, “From the first whistle to the final anthem, The Grosvenor is set to become one of Manchester’s home ends for the World Cup.”
You can reserve your tickets from just £3 for The Grosvenor Fireball Fanzone – along with plenty of cheap pints and affordable food and drink packages – right HERE.
(Don’t say, don’t say it, don’t say it) It’s coming home…
Danny Jones -
28th August 2023 
