Major League Cricket 2024: 6th July to 29th July 24 Final Page 63

After a successful inaugural season in 2023, Major League Cricket (MLC) is all set to start the second season in 2024 which will commence from July 5 to July 28.

Unlike the first season's 15 league games, this season will have 21 matches in the first round of the tournament followed by four playoff games.

In the opener of the season, on the 5th of July, the defending champions MI New York, led by Kieron Pollard will take on last year's runner-ups, Seattle Orcas, led by Wayne Parnell in Church Street Park, Morrisville at 01.00 hours (IST).

Later on the same day, Faf du Plesiss' Texas Super Kings will face Sunil Narine-led Los Angeles Knight Riders in Grand Prairie, Dallas at 06.00 hours (IST). Dallas' Grand Prairie stadium will host all four playoff games from July 25 to July 29.

In the inaugural season of MLC in 2023, MI New York's Nicholas Pooran top scored in the tournament with 388 runs in 8 innings followed by his IPL teammate Quinton de Kock at 264 in 7 innings. Pooran was also adjudged as the Player of The Tournament.

Trent Boult, MI New York's lead pacer was the highest wicket-taker of the season with 22 wickets in 8 games followed by the Aussie duo of Cameron Gannon and Andrew Tye at joint-second with 11 wickets each.

Check Full MLC 2024 Schedule:

6 teams and 25 games.

Out of those 25, there are 21 league stage matches and 4 knockout matches.

MLC 2024 schedule

MLC 2024 schedule

MLC 2024 schedule

MLC 2024 schedule

Balanced San Francisco Unicorns aim for the finish line.

Captain: Corey Anderson

Coach: Shane Watson

How did they fare last season: Group Stage

San Francisco Unicorns wrapped up their chequered campaign after snatching defeat from a winning position in their final group stage game against the Texas Super Kings. Reeling at 92 for 5 in the 14th over, TSK romped home with 5 balls to spare as Milind Kumar and Daniel Sams dashed the Unicorns hopes in a matter of minutes. Unicorns kicked off life at MLC in spectacular fashion against the might of MI New York, beating a much fancied opposition by 22 runs. The game also dragged Corey Anderson from cricketing oblivion after a dazzling knock of 91 off 52 deliveries. Anderson closed out the tournament as the Unicorns' highest run getter with 190 runs in 5 games.

Unicorns drafted in old war horse Liam Plunkett as the primary pick for $70,000 in the draft last year. The 39 year old was worth his weight in gold, overshadowing the younger brigade of Carmi Le Roux and Haris Rauf in terms of wickets and ECON. The tournament also proved to be a nightmare for captain Aaron Finch at the sunset of his career, labouring to 68 runs and striking at a dismal 88. Unicorns stop-start campaign embodied the returns of their international stars including the likes of Marcus Stoinis and Finn Allen who failed to muster a single score of over 40 runs in 5 innings.

International Contingent:

The Unicorns made some sweeping changes to their international rosters. The franchise will pin high hopes on their bumper signing of Pat Cummins. There would have been a temptation to parachute in Cummins as the captain following the leadership vacuum with the retirement of Aaron Finch but the Unicorns management bestowed the captaincy to Anderson keeping in mind his local wherewithals. World cricket's latest sensation Jake Fraser McGurk would hope to carry where he left off from the IPL where he scored 330 runs striking at 234.04 while Kiwi, Finn Allen manages to retain his spot after a pedestrian season with the bat. Josh Inglis and Sherfane Rutherford have been entrusted to add the muscle in the middle order while fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Matt Henry will find themselves at the core of the Unicorns bowling attack.

Domestic Cadre:

The Unicorns went all out to grab former Pakistan U19 captain Hassan Khan at the MLC domestic draft this year. Khan bagged a top drawer $75,000 contract for putting on a splendid all round show in last year's Minor League Cricket tournament, amassing 220 runs in 5 innings at a S/R of 181 to go with his tally of 11 wickets at an ECON of under 5. Khan will form a troika with left arm spinning all rounders Sanjay Krishnamurthy and Karima Gore. Former West Indies wicket-keeper Jahmar Hamilton has finally been rewarded for his stellar show in the Minor League season after season. Liam Plunkett comes back for yet another MLC season in what may finally be his swansong from the sport while Carmi Le Roux has been retained to form the only left hand seaming option for the Unicorns.

Probable XI : Jake Fraser McGurk, Finn Allen, Josh Inglis, Corey Anderson, Sherfane Rutherford, Tajinder Singh, Hassan Khan, Liam Plunkett, Pat Cummins, Haris Rauf, Carmi Le Roux

Seattle Orcas: De Kock, Klaasen key for glory.

Captain: Wayne Parnell

Coach: Pravin Amre

How did they fare last season: Runners Up

Seattle Orcas stormed into the finals last year, dropping only a solitary league game in their march to the final. The Orcas were besieged at the final frontier by a whirlwind Nicholas Pooran century that counterpunched Quinton de Kock's swashbuckling 87. Orcas played some phenomenal cricket throughout the tournament on the back of some brilliant individual performances. Heinrich Klaasen's devastating knock of 110* off 44 deliveries sealed a final over thriller against a packed MI New York bowling lineup. His unravelling of Rashid Khan for a 26-run over is seen as a major inflexion point in his career.

Imad Wasim spun a web around the rest of the teams throughout the tournament. Bringing all his experience into play to bowl the tough powerplay overs, coming out unscathed with an economy of 6.33 and a total tally of 10 wickets in 7 games. USA World Cup star Harmeet Singh proved to be a crucial understudy to Imad as the duo fed off each other to wear down the opposition. De Kock kicked on with three half-centuries in the latter half of the tournament to top the batting charts after an indifferent start to the tournament.

International Contingent:

The Orcas opted for a major overhaul to their international roster. With Dasun Shanaka, Dwayne Pretorius and Shimron Hetmyer being seen as surplus to requirements, the franchise looked to fill in obvious gaps in their roster. Pakistan death bowling specialist Zaman Khan and Proteas' new pace sensation are a couple of key signings for the Orcas this year to aid captain Wayne Parnell at the fag end of an innings. Ryan Rickleton joins De Kock and Klaasen in an already South Africa-heavy set-up. Orcas also bring in some Kiwi flavour with off-spinning allrounder Michael Bracewell in their bowling mix in addition to Imad Wasim.

Domestic Cadre:

Orcas find themselves rich in all-round talent with Shubham Ranjane, Harmeet Singh and Hamad Azam in their ranks. Ranjane proved to be a handful with his electric fielding, his array of slower balls and valuable cameos lower down the order in the inaugural season. Nauman Anwar and Shehan Jayasuriya bring in the international pedigree to their batting lineup. Anwar especially was seen to play the perfect foil for De Kock at the top of the order with some understated knocks. Cameron Gannon, an American-born Aussie state cricketer provides further depth to the Orcas pace battery. The Orcas drafted back USA vice-captain Aaron Jones in a supplemental draft in the wake of his monumental 94* in the World Cup opener.

Probable XI: Quinton De Kock, Nauman Anwar, Shehan Jayasuriya, Heinrich Klaasen, Ryan Rickleton, Imad Wasim, Harmeet Singh, Shubham Ranjane, Zaman Khan, Wayne Parnell, Cameron Gannon

Texas Super Kings: Star batters to backup unheralded bowlers

Texas

Captain:Faf Du Plesis

Coach: Stephen Fleming

How did they fare last season: Knockouts

The crowd frenzy that surrounded the Texas Super Kings in Dallas invoked a strong feeling of deja vu amongst the Super Kings fans. This unwavering support laid the first bricks to build yet another hollowed fortress 5,000 miles away from their spiritual home in Chennai. TSK kicked off their campaign last year with a thumping home win against a star studded LA Knight Riders. Devon Conway and David Miller chipped in with sparkling half centuries on that day but mostly struggled thereafter to match their opening salvo. To compound their batting woes captain Faf Du Plessis failed to cross 14 runs in any of his 7 innings while Milind Kumar was the lone half centurion among the domestics.

Former Peshawar Zalmi leg spinner Mohammad Mohsin proved to be the domestic find of the season for TSK. Mohsin started off with a bang, bamboozling the LAKR with a spell of 4 for 8 on the opening night. He further made heads turn with back to back strikes at a pivotal point in a low scorer against eventual champions MI New York, including pinning Keiron Pollard dead in front on the first ball. Dwayne Bravo turned the clock back with a ballistic 76 off 39 deliveries in their second game against Washington Freedom at the age of 39 but his body failed to last the tournament which in a way derailed the balance of the team and therefore the hopes of clinching the title for TSK.

International Contingent:

Matheesha Pathirana's unavailability had Stephen Fleming make an SOS call to Bravo. The 40 year old Super Kings loyalist will partner with Afghanistan's Naveen-ul-Haq to shoulder death over responsibilities for TSK. Du Plessis, who will turn 40 half way into the tournament, will take over the reins for yet another season. Aiden Markram, meanwhile, will have little time to shake off the world cup heartbreak as the South African captain is expected to line up for the opening game on July 5. The tournament also provides an excellent opportunity for Devon Conway and Mitchell Santner to find their form after missing out in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Conway would particularly be itching to go after being sidelined from the IPL owing to a fractured thumb. Marcus Stoinis will don the yellow this year after a stint with the San Francisco Unicorns in the inaugural season along with fellow Western Australian, Aaron Hardie.

Domestic Cadre:

Milind Kumar is expected to be the key middle order lynchpin for TSK with his experience. TSK have entrusted 18 year old South African born wicket keeper batsman Joshua Tromp as their first pick in this year's domestic draft. TSK's second draft pick, little known left arm spinner Raj Nannan hailing from Guyana surprised many in the American cricket circles. Nannan will form a spin troika with leggies Mohammad Mohsin and Zia Shehzad. Rusty Theron's retirement leaves the weight of the fast bowling mantle on the USA domestic trio of Cameron Stevenson, Calvin Savage and Zia Ul-Haq.

Probable XI: Faf Du Plessis, Devon Conway, Milind Kumar, Aiden Markram, Marcus Stoinis, Joshua Tromp, Dwayne Bravo, Cameron Stevenson, Naveen Ul Haq, Mohammad Mohsin, Raj Nannan

Brute power, rounded bowling attack provides MI New York impetus to reclaim glory

Captain: Kieron Pollard

Coach: Robin Peterson

How did they fare last season: Champions

MI New York's stop start campaign peaked at the right juncture after failing to sustain winning momentum in the league stage. Kieron Pollard's unfortunate shoulder injury in the final league game paved the way for Nicholas Pooran to steward a rocky MINY ship. After securing the 4th spot by a hair's breadth, MINY gathered steam in the knockouts. Pooran's men came back from behind to stitch a 3 match winning streak with the captain capping off their historic run with an innings for the ages, a cracking of 137* off 55 deliveries in the grand finale.

Pooran's form remained red hot throughout the tournament, striking at 167 for his 388 runs. Tim David matched him stroke for stroke scoring at a similar clip, ending with 209 runs in his limited opportunities lower down the order. Left arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige proved to be the ultimate domestic find of the season for MINY. A nagging left arm spinner and a livewire on the field, Kenjige showed heart to bowl the tough overs in the powerplay with aplomb. Up against some superstars of T20 cricket, little known Kenjige topped the economy charts for the tournament, going at a mere 5.73 RPO in his first taste of top flight cricket.

International Contingent:

MINY have largely called upon their core group of players that have served them elsewhere under the MI banner. MI talisman Kieron Pollard will pull up his socks yet again for a franchise he has served for more than 14 seasons. Tim David and Nicholas Pooran will be back in MI colours looking to emulate their inaugural season heroics. South African youngster Dewald Brewis has been afforded yet another chance to find a breakthrough T20 season. They have also roped in West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd to add to their middle order muscle who is also an adequate backup for their jacked up pace attack in Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult and Anrich Nortje. MINY also have successfully retained Rashid Khan to form one of the most complete bowling attacks going around in the tournament.

Domestic Cadre:

37 year old former Gujarat leg spinning all-rounder Sunny Patel makes a surprise comeback to professional cricket after his move to USA. USA captain Monank Patel is expected to be back at the top of the order after being sidelined by a shoulder injury during the world cup. Steven Taylor finds himself under the injury cloud after choosing to play with a shoulder niggle. Opener Shayan Jahangir will look to further capitalise on some solid starts he had provided in the first edition for the team. MINY would hope former Pakistani pacer Ehsan Adil brings in the required depth in the pace battery to step in the role as a container in the presence of a very strong international pace attack. American born and South African raised left handed opening batsman Ruben Clinton has been rewarded with a contract for his exploits in the minor league.

Probable XI: Monank Patel, Steven Taylor, Shayan Jahangir, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Nosthush Kenjige, Ehsan Adil.

Dear members, We have opened a thread to discuss about MLC (Major League Cricket) 2024.

There are many IPL overseas players playing in this League and ICC has granted official List A status.

If you are interested you can join the discussions. You will not be tagged again and again.

There is only one thread for all matches. We will open threads once each one reaches 150 pages.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the tag and thread

All The Best to all teams

I checked squads

It's fun+dangerous combinations

Let's see what is in store