Lancashire outline ambition to rival United and City after £80m Manchester Originals deal

Lancashire cricket chiefs say they are aiming to 'challenge' Manchester United and Manchester City in 'the UK’s number one sporting city' after announcing a multi-million pound investment in The Manchester Originals.

The owners of Indian Premier League (IPL) side the Lucknow Super Giants have agreed to pay around £80million for a 70 per cent share of The Hundred franchise, the Originals.

It is one of eight investment deals that will bring more than £520m of new money into the domestic game and an immediate £25m into the Red Rose coffers.

While the paperwork has still to be completed and the terms finalised, collaboration has already started between the two parties, with ambitious words to match.

Lancashire chief executive Daniel Gidney expects a major uplift in terms of both resources and glamour for both the team and the region. Speaking at a launch event at Emirates Old Trafford, just a stone’s throw from its footballing namesake, he said: “We’ve talked about Manchester being probably the UK’s number one sporting city. There you go, I said it.

“Manchester is a global sporting capital…a powerhouse. We want the Manchester franchise in the Hundred to be become the third biggest sports team in Manchester and challenge those two sports teams in Manchester (United and City).

“That is the scale and level of the ambition of both of us as partners. I have been to IPL games and the whole playbook, the use of colour, the use of branding, data acquisition, the fandom is off the scale. It’s something that is stronger than the Premier League, in my words.

“This is something that is incredibly exciting for us and that is why we wanted to partner with an IPL team and we always have done. You’ve got a 1.4 billion population of people