Manchester Super Giants kicked off life under their new name in style, dismantling London Spirit by seven wickets at Lord's in The Hundred women's competition on 23 July 2026.

The match, played in front of the Sky Sports cameras, was Manchester's first outing since rebranding from Manchester Originals — a name they had carried for five years since the tournament's inception. They could hardly have asked for a more convincing debut.

London Spirit, playing their opening fixture of the 2026 season, were bowled out for 80 in 91 balls. In The Hundred, each side faces 100 deliveries — Spirit did not even last that long. Their innings folded inside the allocated balls, with no batter able to build anything substantial. Marizanne Kapp top-scored with a brisk 17 from 12 deliveries, but the next-highest contributions barely scraped into double figures. BBC Sport

The destroyer-in-chief was Ryana MacDonald-Gay, who returned figures of 4 for 17 — the format's equivalent of a four-wicket haul in any other brand of cricket. She found movement and squeezed the Spirit batters into errors, and the scoreboard pressure told quickly. Wickets fell in clusters, and Spirit never recovered.

Chasing 81 to win, Manchester cantered home on 59 balls — more than a third of their allocation still unused. Captain Meg Lanning, the former Australia skipper whose record in world cricket speaks for itself, set the tone with a composed 21 before being caught off the bowling of Hannah Rainey. Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh then provided late fireworks, smashing an unbeaten 15 from just 5 balls to accelerate the finish.

It was Paige Scholfield who applied the final blow, finishing on 22 off 15 and sealing the result with a back-to-back four and six. Ball one cleared the rope; ball two followed it. Game over. BBC Sport

Kapp, for her part, did try to drag Spirit back into the contest with the ball, taking 2 for 18 in a spirited all-round display. But defending 80 was always a mountain, and Manchester's deep batting line-up never looked flustered.

Spirit's new kit for 2026 features a nod to MCC colours — a fitting touch given Lord's is the spiritual home of the Marylebone Cricket Club — but there was little else for the home crowd to savour on opening day. Sky Sports

For Manchester, this was a statement. New name, same sharp edge. The tournament, which runs from 21 July to 16 August and is broadcast live on Sky Sports, is still in its early stages — but a dominant performance at cricket's most famous ground is the kind of start any side would take. Sky Sports