Major League Cricket is currently in its third installment as T20 cricket begins to make its mark stateside in one of the latest additions to the ever-growing franchise calendar.
With IPL-backed involvement, the six-team competition is immediately on par with the leading money-spinning leagues around the world in terms of its ability to attract some of the world’s best white ball players.
The highly-anticipated entry into the US scene has been an overall positive one, boosting its historically invisible status in the world’s biggest sports market and poised for continued growth in the years to come.
For fans in England who hold an interest in the world of franchise cricket, exposure of the tournament unfolding has been limited which is now reaching the business end with three sides level on 12 points with two games to play as teams jostle for position in the play-offs to determine who will play in the qualifier or eliminator.
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Marquee overseas signings
Despite its relative infancy, Major League Cricket has not struggled to entice some of the biggest names on the franchise circuit from around the world.
Nicholas Pooran and Heinrich Klaasen, arguably the two most premier batters in white ball cricket, are both leading sides after they were the latest in an increasing trend to announce their premature retirement from the international stage amid more lucrative franchise opportunities.
There is also a strong Australian presence, including the likes of Glenn Maxwell and David Warner, whilst Steve Smith was due to participate before injury in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s ruled him out.
As ever, West Indies stars were in high demand, with Sunil Narine and Andre Russell continuing to feature for the Knight Riders franchise and Kieron Pollard maintaining his long-standing relationship with Mumbai Indians.
Other notable participants include Trent Boult, Faf du Plessis and Haris Rauf, whilst players at the other end of their careers have also signed up such as Noor Ahmed, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Rachin Ravindra.
Threat to England subsides
When MLC was announced and pledged to lure ‘the best in the world’, there were concerns as to what this meant for English players and competitions moving forward in the current franchise-centric landscape.
As of yet, the answer is very little.
Jason Roy cancelled his ECB deal to sign up for the inaugural edition in 2023, with fears that would trigger a number of England internationals and leading county players to follow suit in prioritising a financially-superior stint across the pond in the heart of English summer, though that has not materialised.
In addition to 40-year-old Liam Plunkett, who has relocated to the US and is actively involved in promoting the game, Alex Hales is the only other English representative in 2025 after the third-highest T20 run-scorer in history chose not to return to Nottinghamshire Outlaws for the Vitality Blast.
MLC chief executive Johnny Grave recently acknowledged that interest in English talent had cooled for the time being, stating the challenges of the calendar in luring them away from their domestic season.
Grave also played down concerns around disruption and revealed the relationship with the ECB has improved to ensure coexistence.
The final of MLC in 2025 is held on July 13, significantly earlier than the end of the month finishes over the past two years which caused a clash with the beginning of England’s new premier Hundred-ball competition.
Whilst counties in the T20 Blast may have been hampered in attempts to attract big name international signings, The Hundred now only competes alongside the Caribbean Premier League with over half of its overseas pool this year arriving from participating in the MLC.
In a further sign of greater cooperation, Washington Freedom owner Sanjay Govil agreed a deal to buy a 50% stake in Welsh Fire during the landmark ECB sale process of The Hundred franchises earlier in the year.
What about US domestic players?
For any franchise competition to grow, there needs to be a significant presence of local talent alongside the sprinkling of international firepower, though in the case of MLC there is a little more than a sprinkling with up to six overseas players allowed to be named in a starting XI.
MLC was designed primarily to grow the sport in the US and develop a home audience, looking to build on the success the US national team had at the 2024 T20 World Cup, where the co-hosts dramatically beat Pakistan at their first ICC tournament event since 2004.
With an enlarged skill gap between domestic and international players in an associate nation-based tournament, how much is the MLC providing a platform for local players to showcase themselves?
US captain Monank Patel, 32, is currently leading the run-scoring charts with 349 runs at 43.62 and four half-centuries for MI New York, the same team uncapped Tajinder Singh made the quickest fifty and highest score by a US player in the competition’s history with a 35-ball 95 against Seattle Orcas.
Less clearly defined rules around what constitutes a local player has meant most teams have opted for non-US eligible players to fill their domestic quota, with just nine US-born players on the rosters in 2023.
The performances of the likes of Shayan Jahangir with the bat and Harmeet Singh with the ball has proven that US players are capable of holding their own when given the chance but there remains limited scope for opportunities throughout.
Has the competition been a success?
Unsurprisingly given the nature of international talent throughout all six squads, the quality of product on the field has been fairly strong.
South African star Faf du Plessis became the first player to score two T20 centuries after the age of 40, with both knocks coming within the space of ten days of each other for the Texas Super Kings, whilst Kiwi Finn Allen began the competition in staggering fashion with a record-shattering 151 off just 51 balls for San Francisco Unicorns against Washington Freedom.
Fans have also been treated to thrilling finales with two last-ball finishes in the space of 24 hours, most notably Seattle Orcas’ Shimron Hetmyer hitting fellow West Indian Kieron Pollard for a six to complete the highest chase in MLC history of 238 against MI New York – the first of three successful run chases in a row all inspired by the Guyanese big hitter.
With plans to expand the number of games with the launch of at least two more teams in the near future, MLC has thus far been a resounding success and surpassed all financial expectations.
Whilst there were plenty of empty seats on show at the 12,000-seater Oakland Coliseum, the second leg of the competition at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas has witnessed vibrant crowds and record attendances for the third season running.
By Dom Harris