2024 Major League Cricket season
Second season of Major League Cricket
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2024 Major League Cricket (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 the previous season, at two venues: Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina.[4] The season was played from July 5 to 28, 2024, with the Washington Freedom defeating the San Francisco Unicorns by 96 runs to win the tournament.[5]
USA Cricket
| |
| Dates | July 5 – 28, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | American Cricket Enterprises USA Cricket |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and playoffs |
| 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 |
MI New York were the defending champions.[6]
Background
In December 2023, it was announced that the second season of the tournament would begin on July 5, 2024, four days after the conclusion of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[7] This was later moved back a day to July 5.[8] It was also reported that matches would be played at Grand Prairie Stadium, alongside other venues.[9] By March 2024, MLC had announced that they had signed Cognizant to serve as the season's title sponsor.[10]
On February 15, 2024, the overseas players' retention lists were announced, with the number of overseas slots having been upped to nine.[11] In the following months, teams would go on to select further overseas players, including Australian cricketers Steven Smith and Travis Head.[12][13] The domestic players' draft was virtually held on March 21, 2024, with a total of 20 players being picked by teams over 10 rounds.[14] An additional draft was scheduled for June 16 for teams to complete their squads.[15]
The season schedule was released by MLC on May 7, with defending champions MI New York facing the Seattle Orcas in the season opener, and the final set for July 28 at Grand Prairie Stadium.[8][16] 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.[17]
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 and a maximum of 19 players can be selected by teams with a cap of nine overseas players. The teams also can retain any domestic players during the retention window, which was open until February 29, 2024.[18] Teams were allowed to select any remaining domestic players during MLC's domestic draft, which was held on March 21, 2024, and a supplementary draft, which was held on June 16.[19]
Venues
Matches were 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.[20]
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 |
League stage
Seattle Orcas 108 (19.1 overs) |
v |
MI New York 111/4 (14.2 overs) |
- 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) |
- Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
- Joshua Tromp (Texas Super Kings) made his T20 debut.
MI New York 154/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Washington Freedom 55/1 (7.4 overs) |
- 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) |
- 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 the toss and elected to field.
- Ryan Rickelton (Seattle Orcas) scored his first century in T20s.[21]
San Francisco Unicorns 127 (17.5 overs) |
v |
Texas Super Kings 128/3 (12.5 overs) |
- 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 the toss and elected to field.
v |
||
- Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
- No play was possible due to rain.
v |
||
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field.
- 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 the toss and elected to field.
(H) Texas Super Kings 176/6 (20 overs) |
v |
MI New York 161/7 (20 overs) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
San Francisco Unicorns 165/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Seattle Orcas 142/6 (20 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
Washington Freedom 182/5 (20 overs) |
v |
MI New York 88 (13.3 overs) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
Seattle Orcas 142/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Los Angeles Knight Riders 143/6 (19.1 overs) |
- 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 the toss and elected to bat.
Washington Freedom 206/5 (20 overs) |
v |
Texas Super Kings (H) 164 (19.5 overs) |
- 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) |
- 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 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) |
- 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) |
- 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 | |||||||||||
| July 25, 2024 – Dallas | July 28, 2024 – Dallas | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Washington Freedom | 149/3 (15.3 overs) | QW | Washington Freedom | 207/5 (20 overs) | ||||||||
| 2 | San Francisco Unicorns | 145 (19 overs) | July 26, 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) | ||||||||||
| July 24, 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 the toss and elected to field.
Qualifier
San Francisco Unicorns 145 (19 overs) |
v |
Washington Freedom 149/3 (15.3 overs) |
- 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) |
- Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
Final
Washington Freedom 207/5 (20 overs) |
v |
San Francisco Unicorns 111 (16 overs) |
- 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.[22]
| 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 |