2023 Major League Cricket season
Dates13 – July 30, 2023
Administrator(s)American Cricket Enterprises
USA Cricket
Cricket formatTwenty20
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and playoffs
Host(s)United States
ChampionsMI New York (1st title)
Runners-upSeattle Orcas
Participants6
Matches19
Attendance70,000 (3,684 per match)
Player of the seriesNicholas Pooran (MI New York)
Most runsNicholas Pooran (MI New York) (388)
Most wicketsTrent Boult (MI New York) (22)
Official websitewww.majorleaguecricket.com

The 2023 Major League Cricket season (also known as the 2023 MLC) was the inaugural season of the Major League Cricket,[1] a franchise Twenty20 cricket league established in 2019 by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) in the United States.[2] The season was hosted at two venues, Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina.[3] The season was played from July 13 to 30, 2023,[4] with MI New York defeating the Seattle Orcas by seven wickets to win the inaugural title.[5][6]

Background

Major League Cricket announced in November 2022 that its inaugural season would be played at Grand Prairie Stadium starting July 13 and concluding July 30.[7] MLC also revealed that the tournament would be played in a single round-robin format with fifteen league matches played among six franchises before a four-match play-off phase.[8][9]

In March 2023, the teams for the tournament were announced ahead of the league's inaugural draft – called the Texas Super Kings, the Seattle Orcas, the Los Angeles Knight Riders, the Washington Freedom, the MI New York, and the San Francisco Unicorns respectively.[10][11] The draft for the season was then held on March 19, with Harmeet Singh being picked first overall and Aaron Finch and Quinton de Kock among others highlighting the draft.[12][13] In the buildup to the season opener, teams signed multiple other players including Jason Roy, Adam Zampa, and Moises Henriques.[14]

In April, USA Cricket – the governing body of cricket in the United States – officially sanctioned the tournament following a dispute with tournament organizers, American Cricket Enterprises, that threatened to delay the launch of MLC.[15][16] Tournament fixtures were announced on June 12 – nearly two months later.[17][18] In addition, it also revealed that the tournament would be held at two venues, Grand Prairie Stadium and Church Street Park for the group stage,[19][20] while all playoff matches and the final would be held at Grand Prairie Stadium. Tickets for the matches were also made available on the same day.[21]

Teams

Teams were announced by MLC in March 2023, with team coaches and captains being announced in the months following.[11]

Teams in the 2023 Major League Cricket season
Franchise Head coach Captain
Los Angeles Knight Riders Phil Simmons Sunil Narine
MI New York Robin Peterson Kieron Pollard
San Francisco Unicorns Shane Watson Aaron Finch
Seattle Orcas Pravin Amre Wayne Parnell
Texas Super Kings Stephen Fleming Faf du Plessis
Washington Freedom Greg Shipperd Moises Henriques

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 select nine local players in the draft and another one as a wildcard.

Squads in the 2023 Major League Cricket season
Los Angeles Knight Riders[22] MI New York[23] San Francisco Unicorns Seattle Orcas Texas Super Kings Washington Freedom

Venues

Matches were held at two venus: Grand Prairie's Grand Prairie Stadium, with a capacity of 7,000 (expandable to 15,000) and Morrisville, North Carolina's Church Street Park, with a capacity of 3,500

Points table

  
Advanced to the Qualifier
  
Advanced to the Eliminator
Pos Team Pld W L T NR Pts NRR
1 Seattle Orcas 5 4 1 0 0 8 0.725
2 Texas Super Kings 5 3 2 0 0 6 0.570
3 Washington Freedom 5 3 2 0 0 6 0.097
4 MI New York 5 2 3 0 0 4 1.004
5 San Francisco Unicorns 5 2 3 0 0 4 −0.303
6 Los Angeles Knight Riders 5 1 4 0 0 2 −2.028
Source: ESPNcricinfo

League stage

Match 1
July 13, 2023
19:30 (N)
Scorecard
Texas Super Kings
181/6 (20 overs)
v
David Miller 61 (42)
Lockie Ferguson 2/23 (4 overs)
Andre Russell 55 (34)
Mohammad Mohsin 4/8 (3 overs)
Texas Super Kings won by 69 runs
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Jermaine Lindo (USA) and Paul Wilson (Aus)
Player of the match: David Miller (Texas Super Kings)
  • Los Angeles Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.

Match 2
July 14, 2023
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
San Francisco Unicorns
215/5 (20 overs)
v
MI New York
193/5 (20 overs)
Corey Anderson 91 (52)
Kagiso Rabada 2/32 (4 overs)
Tim David 53* (28)
Liam Plunkett 2/30 (4 overs)
San Francisco Unicorns won by 22 runs
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Vijaya Mallela (USA)
Player of the match: Corey Anderson (San Francisco Unicorns)
  • San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to bat.

Match 3
July 14, 2023
19:30 (N)
Scorecard
Washington Freedom
144/7 (20 overs)
v
Seattle Orcas
148/5 (19.4 overs)
Akeal Hosein 33* (22)
Harmeet Singh 2/24 (4 overs)
Nauman Anwar 48 (37)
Moises Henriques 1/8 (2 overs)
Seattle Orcas won by 5 wickets
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Wayne Knights (NZ) and Rushane Samuels (WI)
Player of the match: Imad Wasim (Seattle Orcas)
  • Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.

Match 4
July 15, 2023
19:30 (N)
Scorecard
Seattle Orcas
177/4 (20 overs)
v
San Francisco Unicorns
142 (17.5 overs)
Heinrich Klaasen 53 (31)
Liam Plunkett 2/36 (4 overs)
Shadab Khan 36 (23)
Cameron Gannon 4/23 (3.5 overs)
Seattle Orcas won by 35 runs
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Billy Taylor (Eng)
Player of the match: Heinrich Klaasen (Seattle Orcas)
  • Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to bat.

Match 5
July 16, 2023
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Washington Freedom
163/5 (20 overs)
v
Texas Super Kings
157/7 (20 overs)
Matthew Short 80 (50)
Gerald Coetzee 2/26 (4 overs)
Dwayne Bravo 76* (39)
Akeal Hosein 2/25 (4 overs)
Washington Freedom won by 6 runs
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Jermaine Lindo (USA) and Paul Wilson (Aus)
Player of the match: Matthew Short (Washington Freedom)
  • Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to bat.

Match 6
July 16, 2023
19:30 (N)
Scorecard
MI New York
155/8 (20 overs)
v
Tim David 48* (21)
Corné Dry 2/10 (4 overs)
Unmukt Chand 26 (26)
Nosthush Kenjige 2/7 (3 overs)
MI New York won by 105 runs
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Billy Taylor (Eng)
Player of the match: Tim David (MI New York)
  • MI New York won the toss and elected to bat.

Match 7
July 17, 2023
19:30 (N)
Scorecard
Texas Super Kings
154/7 (20 overs)
v
MI New York
137/8 (20 overs)
Devon Conway 74 (55)
Trent Boult 2/29 (4 overs)
Shayan Jahangir 41 (38)
Daniel Sams 2/15 (4 overs)
Texas Super Kings won by 17 runs
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Wayne Knights (NZ) and Jermaine Lindo (USA)
Player of the match: Devon Conway (Texas Super Kings)
  • Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat.

Match 8
July 18, 2023
19:30 (N)
Socrecard
San Francisco Unicorns
212/7 (20 overs)
v
Matthew Wade 78 (41)
Adam Zampa 3/41 (4 overs)
Jason Roy 45 (21)
Shadab Khan 2/26 (4 overs)
San Francisco Unicorns won by 21 runs
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Rushane Samuels (WI)
Player of the match: Matthew Wade (San Francisco Unicorns)
  • San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to bat.

Match 9
July 20, 2023
17:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
v
Washington Freedom
177/4 (18.1 overs)
Andre Russell 70* (37)
Moises Henriques 3/26 (3 overs)
Matthew Short 43 (35)
Sunil Narine 1/20 (4 overs)
Washington Freedom won by 6 wickets
Church Street Park, Morrisville
Umpires: Billy Taylor (Eng) and Paul Wilson (Aus)
Player of the match: Andre Russell (Los Angeles Knight Riders)
  • Washington Freedom won the toss elected to field.
  • Los Angeles Knight Riders were eliminated as a result of this match.

Match 10
July 21, 2023
17:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Texas Super Kings
127 (20 overs)
v
Seattle Orcas
128/2 (16 overs)
Dwayne Bravo 39 (39)
Wayne Parnell 5/20 (4 overs)
Quinton de Kock 53 (36)
Mitchell Santner 1/15 (3 overs)
Seattle Orcas won by 8 wickets
Church Street Park, Morrisville
Umpires: Wayne Knights (NZ) and Vijaya Mallela (USA)
Player of the match: Wayne Parnell (Seattle Orcas)
  • Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
  • Seattle Orcas qualified for the playoffs as a result of this match.

Match 11
July 22, 2023
17:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Washington Freedom
133/8 (20 overs)
v
San Francisco Unicorns
103 (19.5 overs)
Moises Henriques 30 (27)
Haris Rauf 3/20 (4 overs)
Corey Anderson 34 (34)
Saurabh Netravalkar 6/9 (3.5 overs)
Washington Freedom won by 30 runs
Church Street Park, Morrisville
Umpires: Rushane Samuels (WI) and Paul Wilson (Aus)
Player of the match: Saurabh Netravalkar (Washington Freedom)
  • San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field.
  • Washington Freedom qualified for the playoffs as a result of this match.

Match 12
July 23, 2023
13:30
Scorecard
Seattle Orcas
170/6 (20 overs)
v
Los Angeles Knight Riders
175/8 (19.1 overs)
Shehan Jayasuriya 60* (45)
Adam Zampa 2/26 (4 overs)
Rilee Rossouw 78* (38)
Cameron Gannon 3/13 (4 overs)
Los Angeles Knight Riders won by 2 wickets
Church Street Park, Morrisville
Umpires: Reon King (WI) and Billy Taylor (Eng)
Player of the match: Rilee Rossouw (Los Angeles Knight Riders)
  • Los Angeles Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.

Match 13
July 23, 2023
17:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Washington Freedom
160/6 (20 overs)
v
MI New York
161/2 (15.3 overs)
Glenn Phillips 47 (35)
Kieron Pollard 2/33 (4 overs)
Nicholas Pooran 62* (33)
Akeal Hosein 1/9 (2 overs)
MI New York won by 8 wickets
Church Street Park, Morrisville
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Paul Wilson (Aus)
Player of the match: Nicholas Pooran (MI New York)
  • MI New York won the toss and elected to field.

Match 14
July 24, 2023
17:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
San Francisco Unicorns
171/8 (20 overs)
v
Texas Super Kings
172/7 (19.1 overs)
Matthew Wade 49 (30)
Gerald Coetzee 4/31 (4 overs)
Milind Kumar 52 (42)
Haris Rauf 2/32 (4 overs)
Texas Super Kings won by 3 wickets
Church Street Park, Morrisville
Umpires: Jermaine Lindo (USA) and Rushane Samuels (WI)
Player of the match: Daniel Sams (Texas Super Kings)
  • San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Texas Super Kings qualified for the playoffs as a result of this match.

Match 15
July 25, 2023
17:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
MI New York
194/8 (20 overs)
v
Seattle Orcas
195/8 (19.2 overs)
Nicholas Pooran 68 (34)
Harmeet Singh 2/21 (3 overs)
Heinrich Klassen 110* (44)
Trent Boult 4/31 (4 overs)
Seattle Orcas won by 2 wickets
Church Street Park, Morrisville
Umpires: Vijaya Mallela (USA), Wayne Knights (NZ)
Player of the match: Heinrich Klassen (Seattle Orcas)
  • Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
  • MI New York qualified for the playoffs and San Francisco Unicorns were eliminated as a result of this match.

Play-offs

Qualifier / EliminatorChallengerFinal
July 27, 2023 - Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas, 19:30 CDTJuly 30, 2023 - Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas, 19:30 CDT
1Seattle Orcas127/1 (15 overs)QWSeattle Orcas183/9 (20 overs)
2Texas Super Kings126/9 (20 overs)July 28, 2023 - Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas, 19:30 CDTCWMI New York184/3 (16 overs)
QLTexas Super Kings158 (20 overs)
July 27, 2023 - Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas, 15:30 CDTEWMI New York162/4 (19 overs)
3Washington Freedom125/9 (20 overs)
4MI New York141/7 (20 overs)

Eliminator
July 27, 2023
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
MI New York
141/7 (20 overs)
v
Washington Freedom
125/9 (20 overs)
Dewald Brevis 57 (41)
Saurabh Netravalkar 2/25 (4 overs)
Marco Jansen 28 (18)
Trent Boult 4/20 (4 overs)
MI New York won by 16 runs
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Rushane Samuels (WI)
Player of the match: Dewald Brevis (MI New York)
  • Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.

Qualifier
July 27, 2023
19:30 (N)
Scorecard
Texas Super Kings
126/9 (20 overs)
v
Seattle Orcas
127/1 (15 overs)
Daniel Sams 26* (25)
Andrew Tye 3/32 (4 overs)
Quinton de Kock 88* (50)
Rusty Theron 1/20 (3 overs)
Seattle Orcas won by 9 wickets
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Vijay Mallela (USA) and Billy Taylor (Eng)
Player of the match: Quinton de Kock (Seattle Orcas)
  • Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat.

Challenger
July 28, 2023
19:30 (N)
Scorecard
Texas Super Kings
158 (20 overs)
v
MI New York
162/4 (19 overs)
Devon Conway 38 (35)
Trent Boult 4/24 (4 overs)
Dewald Brevis 41* (33)
Rusty Theron 1/12 (2 overs)
MI New York won by 6 wickets
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Jermaine Lindo (USA) and Paul Wilson (Aus)
Player of the match: Trent Boult (MI New York)
  • MI New York won the toss and elected to field.

Final


July 30, 2023
19:30 (N)
Scorecard
Seattle Orcas
183/9 (20 overs)
v
MI New York
184/3 (16 overs)
Quinton de Kock 87 (52)
Rashid Khan 3/9 (4 overs)
Nicholas Pooran 137* (55)
Imad Wasim 1/14 (2 overs)
MI New York won by 7 wickets
Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas
Umpires: Wayne Knights (NZ) and Paul Wilson (Aus)
Player of the match: Nicholas Pooran (MI New York)
  • MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
  • The MI New York won the inaugural Major League Cricket tournament as a result of this match.

Statistics

Most runs

Most runs in the 2023 Major League Cricket season[30]
Player Team Innings Runs High score
Nicholas Pooran MI New York 8 388 137*
Quinton de Kock Seattle Orcas 7 264 88*
Heinrich Klaasen Seattle Orcas 6 235 110*
Devon Conway Texas Super Kings 7 221 74
Tim David MI New York 7 209 53*

Most wickets

Most wickets in the 2023 Major League Cricket season[31]
Player Team Matches Wickets Best bowling
Trent Boult MI New York 8 22 4/20
Cameron Gannon Seattle Orcas 7 11 4/23
Andrew Tye Seattle Orcas 7 11 3/32
Imad Wasim Seattle Orcas 7 10 2/23
Saurabh Netravalkar Washington Freedom 6 10 6/9

Awards

On July 28, 2023, a list of end of season awards was announced.[32]

Awards in the 2023 Major League Cricket season
Name Team Award
Nicholas Pooran MI New York Most Valuable Player
Nicholas Pooran MI New York Leading run scorer
Trent Boult MI New York Leading wicket taker
Cameron Gannon Seattle Orcas Domestic Player of the Series

Broadcasting

In July 2023, Major League Cricket (MLC) announced that its inaugural season will be broadcast live in major cricketing nations.[33]

Broadcast rights for the 2023 Major League Cricket season
Country Television channel Internet streaming applications
India[34][35] Sports18 JioCinema
United States & Canada[36]

Willow TV
Sling TV (Select matches)
CBS Sports (Select matches)

Australia[37] Fox Cricket
Pakistan[38] A Sports

References

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  2. Amit Chaudhary, ET Bureau (March 25, 2023). "MLC: Cricket's American dream". The Economic Times. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  3. Tagore, Vijay (June 12, 2023). "MLC's first season to be played in Grand Prairie and Morrisville". Cricbuzz. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  4. Peter Della Penna (November 15, 2022). "Major League Cricket set for July 2023 launch in Grand Prairie". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  5. Abraham, Timothy (July 31, 2023). "Major League Cricket: Nicholas Pooran century inspires MI New York to inaugural title". BBC Sport. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  6. Skipworth, William (July 31, 2023). "Billionaire Ambani's New York Cricket Team Wins First Ever U.S. Major League Cricket Championship". Forbes. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
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  19. Wallis, Jay (November 15, 2022). "'It's an exciting time' | Major League Cricket coming to Grand Prairie in July 2023". WFAA. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  20. Bae, Cindy (May 5, 2023). "Morrisville on track to enhance cricket experience, host Major League Cricket events". ABC 11. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  21. Hays, Nate (June 14, 2023). "MLC announce schedule, Church Street Park as second venue, tickets for sale". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  22. "Russell, Narine, Roy and Ferguson join Knight Riders in Los Angeles for MLC". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
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  25. Kuanal, James (July 12, 2023). "Texas Super Kings sign Imran Tahir after Ambati Rayudu withdraws from inaugural Major League Cricket". Sportskeeda. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  26. "Tanveer Sangha join as Hasaranga's Replacement in MLC 2023". Times of Sports News. July 13, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  27. "MLC 2023: Washington Freedom's complete list of players in Major League Cricket". Sportz Connect. Sportskeeda. July 15, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
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  30. ESPNCricinfo
  31. ESPNcricinfo
  32. @MLCricket (July 27, 2023). "My precious. Take a look at these beauties and let us know who you think will be taking them home!!! #MLCPlayoffs" (Tweet). Retrieved July 31, 2023 via Twitter.
  33. "Major League Cricket Announces Further International Broadcasters for 2023 Season". Major League Cricket. July 12, 2023.
  34. "Reliance's Viacom 18 bags media rights for Major League Cricket". The Economic Times. July 7, 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
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