2024 Major League Cricket season
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Dates | 5 – 28 July 2024 |
---|---|
Administrator(s) | American Cricket Enterprises USA Cricket |
Cricket format | Twenty20 |
Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and playoffs |
Host(s) | ![]() |
Champions | Washington Freedom (1st title) |
Runners-up | San Francisco Unicorns |
Participants | 6 |
Matches | 25 |
Player of the series | Travis Head (Washington Freedom) |
Most runs | Faf du Plessis (Texas Super Kings) (420) |
Most wickets | Saurabh Netravalkar (Washington Freedom) (15) |
Official website | Major League Cricket |
← 2023 2025 → |
The 2024 Major League Cricket season (also known as MLC 2024, or for sponsorship reasons as 2024 Cognizant Major League Cricket) was the second season of Major League Cricket,[1][2] a franchise Twenty20 cricket league established in 2019 by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) in the United States.[3] The season was hosted, as was the case of the previous season, at two venues: Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina.[4] The tournament began on 5 July to and the final was held on 28 July 2024, with MI New York as the previous defending champions.[5]
In the final, Washington Freedom defeated San Francisco Unicorns by 96 runs to win their first title.
Background
In December 2023, it was announced that the second season of the tournament would begin on 5 July 2024, four days after the conclusion of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[6] This was later moved back a day to 5 July.[7] It was also reported that matches would be played at Grand Prairie Stadium, alongside other venues.[8] By March 2024, MLC had announced that they had signed Cognizant to serve as the season's title sponsor.[9]
On 15 February 2024, the overseas players' retention lists were announced, with the number of overseas slots having been upped to nine.[10] In the following months, teams would go on to select further overseas players, including Australian cricketers Steven Smith and Travis Head.[11][12] The domestic players' draft was virtually held on 21 March 2024, with a total of 20 players being picked by the teams over 10 rounds.[13] An additional draft is scheduled for 16 June in order for teams to complete their squads.[14] The season schedule was released on 7 May, with defending champions MI New York to face the Seattle Orcas in the season opener, and the final set for 28 July.[7]
The full list of season fixtures were released by MLC on 7 May.[15] Later that month, MLC announced that they had obtained official List A status for all tournament fixtures, becoming the second Associate-run league to have it alongside the ILT20.[16]
Teams
All the six teams from the previous season took part this season.
Franchise | Captain | Head coach |
---|---|---|
Los Angeles Knight Riders | Sunil Narine | Phil Simmons |
MI New York | Kieron Pollard | Robin Peterson |
San Francisco Unicorns | Corey Anderson | Shane Watson |
Seattle Orcas | Wayne Parnell | Pravin Amre |
Texas Super Kings | Faf du Plessis | Stephen Fleming |
Washington Freedom | Steve Smith | Ricky Ponting |
Squads
A minimum of 16 players and a maximum of 19 players can be selected by the teams with a maximum of nine overseas players. The teams can also retain their domestic players during the retention window, which was open till 29 February 2024.[17] The teams were allowed to select the remaining domestic players during the draft held on 21 March 2024, and another additional draft held on 16 June 2024.[citation needed]
Venues
Matches are set to held at two venues, Grand Prairie Stadium with a capacity of 7,200 located in Grand Prairie, Texas, and Church Street Park with a capacity of 3,500, located in Morrisville, North Carolina.[19]
Points table
Pos | Team
| Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Washington Freedom (C) | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1.891 | Advanced to Qualifier |
2 | San Francisco Unicorns | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0.588 | |
3 | Texas Super Kings | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0.604 | Advanced to Eliminator |
4 | MI New York | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | −0.451 | |
5 | Los Angeles Knight Riders | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | −0.710 | |
6 | Seattle Orcas | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | −1.312 |
(C) Champion
League stage
Seattle Orcas 108 (19.1 overs) | v | MI New York 111/4 (14.2 overs) |
MI New York won by 6 wickets Church Street Park, Morrisville Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Rushane Samuels (WI) Player of the match: Nicholas Pooran (MI New York) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
- Ruben Clinton (MI New York) made his T20 debut.
Los Angeles Knight Riders 162/7 (20 overs) | v | Texas Super Kings (H) 150/8 (20 overs) |
Unmukt Chand 68 (45) Zia-ul-Haq 2/16 (3 overs) | Devon Conway 53 (39) Ali Khan 4/33 (4 overs) |
Los Angeles Knight Riders won by 12 runs Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Jermaine Lindo (USA) Player of the match: Ali Khan (Los Angeles Knight Riders) |
- Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
- Joshua Tromp (Texas Super Kings) made his T20 debut.
Match 3 6 July 2024 15:00 Scorecard |
MI New York 154/9 (20 overs) | v | Washington Freedom 55/1 (7.4 overs) |
Washington Freedom won by 4 runs (DLS method) Church Street Park, Morrisville Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Rushane Samuels (WI) Player of the match: Saurabh Netravalkar (Washington Freedom) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
- Rain prevented any further play.
- Washington Freedom were 4 runs ahead of the DLS par score of 51 runs from 7.4 overs.
Los Angeles Knight Riders 165/6 (20 overs) | v | San Francisco Unicorns 166/4 (15.2 overs) |
Finn Allen 63 (37) Spencer Johnson 3/36 (4 overs) |
San Francisco Unicorns won by 6 wickets Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Billy Taylor (USA) Player of the match: Finn Allen (San Francisco Unicorns) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field.
- Sanjay Krishnamurthi (San Francisco Unicorns) made his T20 debut.
Texas Super Kings 203/5 (20 overs) | v | Washington Freedom 62/0 (4 overs) |
Travis Head 32* (12) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
- Rain prevented any further play.
Los Angeles Knight Riders 168/5 (20 overs) | v | Seattle Orcas 169/1 (19.5 overs) |
Seattle Orcas won by 9 wickets Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Jermaine Lindo (USA) Player of the match: Ryan Rickelton (Seattle Orcas) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
- Ryan Rickelton (Seattle Orcas) scored his first century in T20s.[20]
Match 7 10 July 2024 15:00 Scorecard |
San Francisco Unicorns 127 (17.5 overs) | v | Texas Super Kings 128/3 (12.5 overs) |
Matthew Short 33 (15) Mohammad Mohsin 4/13 (3.5 overs) | Faf du Plessis 34 (17) Hassan Khan 2/16 (2 overs) |
Texas Super Kings won by 7 wickets Church Street Park, Morrisville Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Vijaya Mallela (USA) Player of the match: Mohammad Mohsin (Texas Super Kings) |
- Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
Seattle Orcas 124 (19.4 overs) | v | Washington Freedom 127/5 (18.2 overs) |
Washington Freedom won by 5 wickets Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Billy Taylor (USA) Player of the match: Lockie Ferguson (Washington Freedom) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
Match 9 12 July 2024 15:00 Scorecard |
v | ||
Match abandoned Church Street Park, Morrisville Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Rushane Samuels (WI) |
- No toss.
- No play was possible due to rain.
Match 10 13 July 2024 15:00 Scorecard |
v | ||
- No toss.
- No play was possible due to rain.
Los Angeles Knight Riders 129 (18.4 overs) | v | Washington Freedom 130/2 (16 overs) |
Washington Freedom won by 8 wickets Church Street Park, Morrisville Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Jermaine Lindo (USA) Player of the match: Glenn Maxwell (Washington Freedom) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
(H) Texas Super Kings 176/6 (20 overs) | v | MI New York 161/7 (20 overs) |
Texas Super Kings won by 15 runs Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Vijaya Mallela (USA) Player of the match: Rashid Khan (MI New York) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
San Francisco Unicorns 165/7 (20 overs) | v | Seattle Orcas 142/6 (20 overs) |
San Francisco Unicorns won by 23 runs Church Street Park, Morrisville Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Aditya Gajjar (USA) Player of the match: Liam Plunkett (San Francisco Unicorns) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
Washington Freedom 182/5 (20 overs) | v | MI New York 88 (13.3 overs) |
Washington Freedom won by 94 runs Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Rushane Samuels (WI) Player of the match: Jessy Singh (Washington Freedom) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
Match 15 17 July 2024 15:00 Scorecard |
Seattle Orcas 142/6 (20 overs) | v | Los Angeles Knight Riders 143/6 (19.1 overs) |
Los Angeles Knight Riders won by 4 wickets Church Street Park, Morrisville Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Billy Taylor (USA) Player of the match: Ryan Rickelton (Seattle Orcas) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to bat.
- Ali Sheikh (Seattle Orcas) made his T20 debut.
San Francisco Unicorns 148/7 (20 overs) | v | MI New York 145/7 (20 overs) |
San Francisco Unicorns won by 3 runs Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Rushane Samuels (WI) Player of the match: Corey Anderson (San Francisco Unicorns) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to bat.
Washington Freedom 206/5 (20 overs) | v | Texas Super Kings (H) 164 (19.5 overs) |
Steve Smith 57 (40) Noor Ahmad 3/38 (4 overs) |
Washington Freedom won by 42 runs Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Jermaine Lindo (USA) and Billy Taylor (USA) Player of the match: Jessy Singh (Washington Freedom) |
- Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
- Noor Ahmad (Texas Super Kings) took his 100th wicket in T20s.
Seattle Orcas 152/7 (20 overs) | v | San Francisco Unicorns 156/4 (14.2 overs) |
Quinton de Kock 62 (33) Hassan Khan 3/5 (2 overs) |
San Francisco Unicorns 6 wickets Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Vijaya Mallela (USA) Player of the match: Finn Allen (San Francisco Unicorns) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field.
- Quinton de Kock (Seattle Orcas) scored his 10,000th run in T20s.
Los Angeles Knight Riders 130 (19.1 overs) | v | MI New York 134/6 (17 overs) |
MI New York won by 4 wickets Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Jermaine Lindo (USA) Player of the match: Rashid Khan (MI New York) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
- Rushil Ugarkar (MI New York) made his T20 debut.
Washington Freedom 174/3 (15.3 overs) | v | San Francisco Unicorns 177/4 (13.4 overs) |
Steve Smith 56 (31) Corey Anderson 2/20 (2 overs) |
San Francisco Unicorns won by 6 wickets (DLS method) Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Billy Taylor (USA) Player of the match: Sanjay Krishnamurthi (San Francisco Unicorns) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field.
- Washington Freedom innings was reduced to 15.3 overs due to rain.
- San Francisco Unicorns were set a revised target of 177 runs from 14 overs due to rain.
- Juanoy Drysdale (San Francisco Unicorns) made his T20 debut.
(H) Texas Super Kings 177/8 (20 overs) | v | Seattle Orcas 140/9 (20 overs) |
Texas Super Kings won by 37 runs Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Jermaine Lindo (USA) Player of the match: Calvin Savage (Texas Super Kings) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
- Ayan Desai (Seattle Orcas) and Zia Shahzad (Texas Super Kings) both made their T20 debut.
Play-offs
Qualifier | Challenger | Final | |||||||||||
25 July 2024 – Dallas | 28 July 2024 – Dallas | ||||||||||||
1 | Washington Freedom | 149/3 (15.3 overs) | QW | Washington Freedom | 207/5 (20 overs) | ||||||||
2 | San Francisco Unicorns | 145 (19 overs) | 26 July 2024 – Dallas | CW | San Francisco Unicorns | 111 (16 overs) | |||||||
QL | San Francisco Unicorns | 200/6 (20 overs) | |||||||||||
Eliminator | EW | Texas Super Kings | 190/4 (20 overs) | ||||||||||
24 July 2024 – Dallas | |||||||||||||
3 | Texas Super Kings | 167/1 (18.3 overs) | |||||||||||
4 | MI New York | 163/8 (20 overs) | |||||||||||
Eliminator
MI New York 163/8 (20 overs) | v | Texas Super Kings (H) 167/1 (18.3 overs) |
Texas Super Kings won by 9 wickets Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Rushane Samuels (WI) Player of the match: Faf du Plessis (Texas Super Kings) |
- Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
Qualifier
San Francisco Unicorns 145 (19 overs) | v | Washington Freedom 149/3 (15.3 overs) |
Hassan Khan 57 (36) Rachin Ravindra 4/11 (2.4 overs) |
Washington Freedom won by 7 wickets Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Vijaya Mallela (USA) Player of the match: Travis Head (Washington Freedom) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
Challenger
San Francisco Unicorns 200/6 (20 overs) | v | Texas Super Kings (H) 190/4 (20 overs) |
San Francisco Unicorns won by 10 runs Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Billy Taylor (USA) Player of the match: Finn Allen (San Francisco Unicorns) |
- Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
Final
Washington Freedom 207/5 (20 overs) | v | San Francisco Unicorns 111 (16 overs) |
Steve Smith 88 (52) Pat Cummins 2/35 (4 overs) |
Washington Freedom won by 96 runs Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Marais Erasmus (SA) Player of the match: Steve Smith (Washington Freedom) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field.
Statistics
Most runs
Runs | Player | Team | Inns | HS | SR | Ave |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
420 | Faf du Plessis | Texas Super Kings | 8 | 100 | 171.42 | 52.50 |
336 | Steve Smith | Washington Freedom | 9 | 88 | 148.67 | 56.00 |
Travis Head | 9 | 77* | 173.19 | 48.00 | ||
306 | Finn Allen | San Francisco Unicorns | 9 | 101 | 187.73 | 34.00 |
293 | Devon Conway | Texas Super Kings | 8 | 62* | 143.62 | 58.60 |
Source: ESPNCricinfo |
Most wickets
Wkts | Player | Team | Inns | Ovs | BBI | Eco |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 | Saurabh Netravalkar | Washington Freedom | 7 | 26.2 | 4/35 | 7.67 |
12 | Rachin Ravindra | Washington Freedom | 6 | 15.1 | 4/11 | 4.81 |
11 | Cameron Gannon | Seattle Orcas | 7 | 23.0 | 3/26 | 9.21 |
Marco Jansen | Washington Freedom | 8 | 31.0 | 3/28 | 8.61 | |
10 | Hassan Khan | San Francisco Unicorns | 7 | 22.0 | 3/5 | 7.09 |
Rashid Khan | MI New York | 7 | 26 | 3/22 | 6.15 | |
Glenn Maxwell | Washington Freedom | 8 | 25.3 | 3/15 | 6.66 | |
Lockie Ferguson | 7 | 25.2 | 4/26 | 7.26 | ||
Source: ESPNCricinfo |
Awards
On July 29, 2024, a list of end of season awards was announced.[21]
Name | Team | Award |
---|---|---|
Travis Head | Washington Freedom | Most Valuable Player |
Faf du Plessis | Texas Super Kings | Leading run scorer |
Saurabh Netravalkar | Washington Freedom | Leading wicket taker |
Hassan Khan | San Francisco Unicorns | Domestic Player of the Series |
Notes
References
- ^ "Cognizant named as Major League Cricket title partner". Major League Cricket. 13 March 2024.
- ^ "Ahead of second season, Major League Cricket signs Cognizant as title sponsor". The Economic Times. 13 March 2024.
- ^ "Cognizant announced as Major League Cricket title partner". Financial Express. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ Roy, Anjishnu (7 May 2024). "Major League Cricket 2024: MI New York vs Seattle Orcas in season opener - full MLC schedule". Olympics. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "Mumbai Indians New York: Champions of the first ever Major League Cricket T20 tournament in the US". Forbes. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
- ^ "MLC 2024 set for July 4 start". Cricbuzz. 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ a b Roller, Matt (7 May 2023). "MLC 2024 to begin on July 5, set for six-day clash with The Hundred". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "Major League Cricket Announces 2024 Season Window". Major League Cricket. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ Broughton, David (13 March 2023). "Cognizant becomes first title sponsor for Major League Cricket". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "INTERNATIONAL T20 SUPERSTARS RETURNING FOR MLC SEASON TWO". Major League Cricket. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Australia batter Steve Smith joins Washington Freedom for 2nd season of Major League Cricket". The Associated Press. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ Malcolm, Alex (15 April 2023). "Travis Head joins Steven Smith at Washington Freedom for Major League Cricket 2024". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "2024 MLC Domestic Draft Results". Major League Cricket. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ Patel, Smit (21 March 2024). "MLC Domestic Draft: Hassan Khan, Joshua Tromp draw top dollars. Smit Patel unsold". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Lavalette, Tristan (8 May 2024). "Major League Cricket Enters Pivotal Second Season". Forbes. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "USA's Major League Cricket acquires List A status from ICC". Hindustan Times. 28 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ "MLC 2024: All Six Major League Cricket Teams Announce Domestic Players Retained". News 18. 2 March 2024.
- ^ "2024 MLC Domestic Draft Results". Major League Cricket. 22 March 2024.
- ^ Coyne, Craig (31 May 2024). "Can Cricket Conquer America?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ "Ryan Rickelton century downs LA Knight Riders". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ "Washington Freedom crowned Cognizant Major League Cricket 2024 champions after stunning final victory". Major League Cricket. 29 July 2024.
External links
- Series home at ESPNcricinfo