Major League Cricket Returns for Second Season

The sport of Cricket continues to try to get a foothold in the American sports landscape. After launching last summer, Major League Cricket (MLQ) is returning in July for its second season.  MLC plays Twenty20 (T20) version of cricket which is a shortened version of Cricket. A typical Twenty20 game is completed in about two and a half hours, with each innings lasting around 70 minutes and an official 10-minute break between the innings. This is much shorter than previous forms of the game and is closer to the timespan of other popular team sports. It was introduced to create a fast-paced game that would be attractive to spectators at the ground and viewers on television.

The league has extended the 2024 schedule due to demand with an extra six league matches. The four-game playoff series will be hosted in Grand Prairie, Texas, and is set for cricket fans across the globe. The season will begin on July 5th with league’s reigning champions, MI New York will feature West Indian batter Kieron Pollard and face off against 2023 runners-up Seattle Orcas headlined by star South African pair Wayne Parnell and Quinton de Kock. The Texas Super Kings, spearheaded by classy South African Faf du Plessis, will take on West Indian off-spinner Sunil Narine’s LA Knight Riders at the purpose-built Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas.

The opening weekend will also feature the Australian-stacked Washington Freedom with Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, and coach Ricky Ponting, facing MI New York on July 6th. The San Francisco Unicorns, bolstered by hard-hitting opening New Zealand batter Finn Allen, will host the LA Knight Riders.

Other players to watch:
  • Jake Fraser-McGurk (San Francisco)
  • Nicholas Pooran (MI New York)
  • Imad Wasim (Seattle)
  • Devon Conway (Texas)
  • Andre Russell (Los Angeles)
The league will have the same six teams as they started with last season:
  1. Los Angeles Knight Riders
  2. MI New York
  3. San Francisco Unicorns
  4. Seattle Ocras
  5. Texas Super Kings
  6. Washington Freedom
MLC has two cricket-specific venues in Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina and Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas

The league also has a developmental league with 27 teams in Minor League Cricket.

For more information on the league: https://www.majorleaguecricket.com/home




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