Simon Katich named as coach of Manchester's Hundred team

Simon Katich, the former Australia opener, has been named as coach of the Manchester Originals team for the inaugural season of The Hundred.

Katich, 43, is the first coach to be confirmed for the eight-team tournament, which begins in July 2020, and is understood to have been handed the role ahead of the former Lancashire coach, Peter Moores, who would have had to take time away from his regular role at Nottinghamshire.

Katich played 56 Tests for Australia, scoring more than 4,000 runs, then finished his first-class career with a successful season at Lancashire in 2013, in which he scored 1137 runs at 66.88 with four hundreds and a highest score of 200.

He will be assisted in the Manchester role by current Lancashire head coach Glen Chapple and assistant coach Mark Chilton.

Katich could be one of five former Australia cricketers to land a coaching role in The Hundred, with his former team-mates Ricky Ponting (Oval), Shane Warne (Lord's), Andrew McDonald (Birmingham) and Darren Lehmann (Leeds) all in the running for next year's inaugural season.

Stephen Fleming (Nottingham), Mahela Jayawardene (Southampton) and Gary Kirsten (Cardiff) are other notable overseas names in the frame.

"I am incredibly excited by the opportunity to lead the men's Manchester-based team in The Hundred, starting next year," said Katich.

"This is a competition that is catching the eyes of the cricket world, in terms of the calibre of players and coaches it will attract, and I'm so excited to start planning and working as men's Head Coach for this new side.

"Having played at Emirates Old Trafford for two years, I know what a special place it is, and what an incredible cricket ground it has transformed into over the last decade. This competition is going to be a ground-breaking moment for cricket across the world, and I'm honoured to be part of it."

Katich has honed his coaching experience in recent years, having won back-to-back Caribbean Premier League titles with the Trinbago Knight Riders (2017 and 2018). He has also served as an assistant coach with Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL since 2016.

He also captained the Perth Scorchers to their first Big Bash League title in 2014.

Sanjay Patel, managing director of The Hundred, added: "We've been delighted by the interest from world class players and coaches who are excited to be part of The Hundred. Simon is a brilliant signing and a dynamic coach who will bring his cricketing knowledge and international experience to the men's Manchester team."

The five-week tournament will be played in the middle of the English summer and will feature eight city-based teams from Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Southampton and two in London (Lord's and The Oval).

The men's Player Draft is set to take place live on Sky Sports on Sunday, October 20.