Super Giants have their maiden trophy: Jos Buttler gives priceless reaction as Manchester Super Giants win The Hundred 2026 originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Manchester Super Giants won their maiden Hundred title at Lord's.
- Jos Buttler turned away and could not watch the final deliveries of the chase.
- Liam Dawson sealed the win with a six off Ben Sanderson with three balls to spare.
Manchester Super Giants win The Hundred 2026
Captains are supposed to project calm in the tightest moments, but Jos Buttler abandoned that pretence entirely as Manchester Super Giants closed in on their first Hundred title. With the match hanging on the final few deliveries at Lord's, the England wicketkeeper simply could not bring himself to look.
The Super Giants had appeared comfortable for much of their chase of 159, only for two late wickets from Mohammad Amir to transform a routine finish into a genuine nerve-shredder. From cruising, they suddenly needed three runs off the last five balls with Liam Dawson at the crease.
Buttler, watching from the dugout after his own dismissal, had seen enough. As the tension peaked, the captain turned his back on the field entirely, hiding his face rather than witness the conclusion of a match his side had dominated for so long.
Champions in our very first season! @ManchesterSG100
— Dr. Sanjiv Goenka (@DrSanjivGoenka) August 16, 2026
What a night it has been at Lord's, a proud moment for all of us in the Super Giants family. This was a team effort from the first game to the last. Tim, what an innings. Noor, a brilliant spell with the ball and wickets at… pic.twitter.com/fNOO18Wpfe
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Jos Buttler's priceless reaction as Manchester Super Giants seal the title
The videos of Buttler in the dugout quickly went viral after being shared by the official Hundred X handle, capturing a captain utterly consumed by nerves. Seated among his teammates and support staff, he faced away from the action, unable to watch as Dawson prepared to face Ben Sanderson.
We were all Jos Buttler watching that finish 🫣#TheHundredFinalpic.twitter.com/w06H16zE0z
— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 16, 2026
Two dot balls only heightened the tension, leaving the Super Giants needing three from three. Then came the release, as Dawson swung Sanderson over deep midwicket for a six that just cleared the rope and settled the contest with three balls to spare.
Buttler's anxiety turned to euphoria in an instant. The captain finally looked up, breaking into a broad smile as he leapt to celebrate a maiden title for a franchise that had lost two previous finals in its former guise as Manchester Originals.
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How Tim Seifert set up Manchester Super Giants' maiden triumph
The foundation for the win had been laid by Tim Seifert, whose sensational 72 off 38 balls included the fastest fifty in a men's Hundred final, reached in just 24 balls. The New Zealander was named both the Match Hero and the tournament's MVP.
Trent Rockets had earlier posted 158 for 8, with Aneurin Donald making 38, Lewis Gregory 32 and Ben Duckett 31 on a Lord's surface that had averaged just 141 in the first innings across the 2026 competition. Noor Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 29, saving his best for the final after a quiet tournament.
Seifert's dismissal proved the key wicket in the chase, and when Amir removed Heinrich Klaasen and Michael Bracewell in successive balls, the Rockets sensed an opening. Leus du Plooy held firm at the other end before Dawson delivered the decisive blow.
The win also denied the Trent Rockets a historic double, with their women's side having thrashed Sunrisers Leeds earlier in the day to claim their title.
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Why Buttler's reaction says everything about what the title meant
There is something refreshingly human about a cricketer of Buttler's standing being reduced to hiding his face in a dugout. This is a man who has won a World Cup, captained his country, and this month became T20 cricket's all-time leading run-scorer, yet a three-run equation left him unable to watch.
It speaks to how much this particular trophy mattered. The franchise had reached two finals in its previous incarnation without lifting the trophy, and Buttler has spent a career being asked to deliver in exactly these moments.
Being powerless in the dugout, with the outcome resting on his lower order, was clearly a very different kind of torture, and the relief on his face when Dawson connected told its own story.
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