Renamed Super Giants retain Buttler and Ecclestone

Manchester Originals have been renamed Manchester Super Giants and have retained England internationals Jos Buttler and Sophie Ecclestone for the 2026 Hundred season.

Buttler and Ecclestone, ranked fourth in T20 internationals for men’s batting and women’s bowling respectively, are retained alongside Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad and former South Africa batter Heinrich Klaasen.

They are joined by former Australia captain Meg Lanning, India’s World Cup winner Smriti Mandhana and England spinner Liam Dawson.

Former Australia coach Justin Langer will lead the men’s side, while ex-England white-ball coach Matthew Mott takes charge of the women’s team.

The franchise’s name change follows RPSG Group purchasing a 70% stake in the side, with the organisation already owning Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League and Durban’s Super Giants in South Africa’s SA20.

Under their previous name, Manchester were unable to secure a Hundred title in their first five seasons, although the men’s side were losing finalists in 2022 and 2023.

Buttler, the former England white-ball captain, and Ecclestone have played their entire Hundred careers with the Manchester franchise.

Lanning signs after playing the last two seasons at Oval Invincibles and London Spirit, while Dawson spent the last four years at Spirit after starting his Hundred career at Southern Brave.

Mandhana spent 2021 to 2024 at Brave, winning the tournament in 2023, but did not play in the tournament last year.

Langer has coached Lucknow Super Giants since 2023 and led London Spirit last year, while Mott, who had a hugely successful spell in charge of Australia women between 2015 and 2022, takes his first head coach role since leaving his England role in 2024.

They replace fellow Australians Simon Katich and Michael Klinger respectively, while the pair will be overseen by compatriot Tom Moody, who led Oval Invincibles men to three successive titles between 2023 and 2025 before taking a global director of cricket role with Super Giants in November.

The team’s badge has also changed, and now features an elephant.