Major League Cricket (MLC), also known as Cognizant Major League Cricket[1][2] for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league that is played in the United States. Operated by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) and sanctioned by USA Cricket, it began play on July 13, 2023, with six teams representing major US cities under a single-entity model.[3] The first season took place over three weeks at Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, concluding on July 30, 2023.[4][5] In 2021, the development league for MLC, Minor League Cricket (MiLC), completed its inaugural season, which was contested by 27 franchise-based teams.[6]

Major League Cricket
Countries United States
AdministratorAmerican Cricket Enterprises
FormatTwenty20
First edition2023
Latest edition2024
Next edition2025
Tournament formatRound-robin and playoffs
Number of teams6
Current championWashington Freedom
(1st title)
Most successfulMI New York
Washington Freedom (1 title each)
Most runsNicholas Pooran (568)
Most wicketsTrent Boult (31)
TVList of broadcasters
Websitemajorleaguecricket.com
2024 Major League Cricket season

History

edit

There have been various attempts to hold a Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in the United States, such as the short-lived Pro Cricket (which played a single season in 2004),[7] and the American Premier League, a proposed league in partnership between the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) and New Zealand Cricket, modelled after domestic T20 competitions. However, it has yet to properly launch in the United States as of July 2024.

Formation: 2018–2021

edit

In November 2018 USA Cricket announced that it was seeking partners to establish a domestic T20 league in the country by 2021, with goals to "engage existing fans and grow new ones", and spur "sustainable development of cricketing infrastructure across the United States".[7] In May 2019, USA Cricket accepted a bid by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) for a US$1 billion investment, covering the league and other investments benefitting the US national teams. Its partners include Satyan Gajwani and Vineet Jain of The Times Group, and Willow TV founders Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan.[8][9] As part of the agreement, ACE also handles commercial activities for T20I and ODI matches hosted by the United States.[10]

In January 2019 USA Cricket was approved as the new governing board for cricket in USA,[11] replacing the USACA, which had been expelled from the International Cricket Council in September 2017 due to governance issues.[12] The new body set a goal for cricket to reach wider, mainstream popularity in the country, where it has typically been considered a niche international sport.[13][14]

In an annual general meeting on February 21, 2020, it was stated that USA Cricket planned to launch Major League Cricket in 2021, and a 22-team development league known as Minor League Cricket that summer as a prelude.[15] Minor League Cricket was officially announced the following week, with plans to host a nine-week, 170-game season beginning July 4;[16] however, it was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[17][18]

In October 2020 USA Cricket reaffirmed plans to launch Major League Cricket in 2022 as part of its "foundational plan" for 2020–23.[19] On December 1, 2020, it was announced that the IPL's Kolkata Knight Riders (co-owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan) would invest in ACE.[20][21]

In February 2021 MLC announced plans for Minor League Cricket Youth and Major League Cricket Youth leagues, which would, alongside a MLC Jr. Championship and player development program, serve as a development system for younger players to progress towards Major League Cricket and the national team.[22] In May 2021, the launch of Major League Cricket was delayed to 2023 due to COVID-19 and to provide additional time to develop facilities.[23]

Launch: 2022–2023

edit

In May 2022 Major League Cricket announced it had acquired funds of US$120 million as part of its Series A and A1 fundraising rounds.[24] Investors committing to MLC featured the likes of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Ross Perot Jr., Anand Rajaraman, Shantanu Narayen and more.[25] MLC plans to use these funds to mainly build stadiums and first-class facilities in the hopes of accelerating cricket's development across the United States.[26][27]

In June 2022 MLC announced the inaugural season of Minor League Cricket Youth (MiLC Youth).[28] The inaugural season of MiLC Youth was announced to be contested between eleven teams at the Prairie View Cricket Complex in Houston starting July 25, 2022.[29] The finals for the inaugural season took place on July 29 at between the Dallas Mustangs and the New Jersey Stallions,[30] in which the Stallions beat the Mustangs by two wickets.[31]

In November 2022, it was announced the first season of MLC will be staged from July 13–30, 2023, at Grand Prairie Stadium. The tournament will be played in a single round-robin format with 15 league matches played among six franchises before a four-match play-off phase. MLC also hopes to play matches in a to-be-constructed stadium in Los Angeles, and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina.[32]

In February 2023, it was announced that the player draft for the league's inaugural season would be held on March 19, 2023.[33]

The inaugural player draft was held on March 19, 2023, at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.[34] The draft was conducted over 9 rounds via a serpentine system, where the team order is reversed every round.[35] Out of the 9 rounds, 8 were general draft picks, with the final round being exclusively for U-23 players.[36] Each of the six teams had a purse of over $1 million, with $800,000 for overseas players and $300,000 for US-based players.[37] The draft had a fixed salary cap with a maximum of $75,000 (first round) and a minimum of $2,500 (ninth round).[38] Overseas signings were directly signed and were not part of the draft.[39] Each franchise must have a minimum of fifteen players, with the maximum being eighteen. Out of these eighteen players, a maximum of nine can be overseas players.[40]

Following the draft, it was reported that USAC had not yet sanctioned either Major or Minor League Cricket for the 2023 season, with the ICC stating that its members should not issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to release players to participate at this time. Interim chairman of the board Atul Rai citing unspecified concerns and outstanding issues over how ACE is administering the competitions, including wanting to seek a more "favorable" short-term agreement. MLC director Justin Geale stated that the sanctioning applications were with USA Cricket", and that "the recent staffing changes at USA Cricket may have contributed to any delays.[41] In April 2023, the league was officially sanctioned by the ICC, removing a significant obstacle to the league launching in July.[42] Play began on July 13, 2023.[43]

2024 season

edit

In December 2023 it was announced that the second season of the MLC tournament would begin on July 5, 2024, just four days after the conclusion of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[44] It was also reported that the matches would be played in Grand Prairie Stadium along with other venues.[45]

In February 2024 the lists of retained domestic and overseas players were released ahead of the domestic player draft.[46][47] In March, Cognizant was named as the title sponsor for the league from the 2024 season.[48]

In May 2024 the ICC granted the tournament official List A status,[49] resulting in the official recognition of the tournament as a "T20 league" and tournament playing records now being counted as official format statistics.[50] Vijay Srinivasan, MLC's chief executive, later emphasized ambitions to expand the tournament to 10 teams and to increase the number of matches played.[51]

Teams

edit

MLC began with six teams and uses a single-entity structure under which all teams are owned by ACE, with investor-operators (who have invested in the company) assigned to each team.[52] It plans to expand to ten teams in the future, expanding from an initial 19-game season to a 34-game season by 2025.[53]

USA Cricket's CEO Iain Higgins identified Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York City, and San Francisco as markets where the sport was most popular.[21] The league's six inaugural teams are assigned to Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.[54] Only Dallas currently has a home stadium; the league plans to build cricket stadiums in the other locales.

List of current teams

edit
Major League Cricket teams
Team City Stadium Capacity Founded Captain Coach Owners
Los Angeles Knight Riders[55] Irvine, California Great Park Cricket Stadium (planned)[56] 10,000 (planned) 2023 Sunil Narine Phil Simmons Knight Riders Group[57]
MI New York[58] Brooklyn, New York City Marine Park Cricket Stadium (planned)[59] 10,000 (planned) 2023 Kieron Pollard[60] Robin Peterson[60] Indiawin Sports[61]
San Francisco Unicorns[62] San Jose, California Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Stadium (planned)[63] 15,000 (planned) 2023 Corey Anderson Shane Watson Anand Rajaraman[64]
Venky Harinarayan[65]
Seattle Orcas[66] Redmond, Washington Marymoor Cricket Community Park (planned)[67] 6,000 (planned) 2023 Heinrich Klaasen Pravin Amre GMR Group[68]
S. Somasegar[69]
Satya Nadella[70][a]
Texas Super Kings[72] Grand Prairie, Texas Grand Prairie Stadium 15,000 2023 Faf du Plessis Stephen Fleming[73] Chennai Super Kings[61]
Anurag Jain[74]
Ross Perot Jr.[75]
Washington Freedom[76] Washington, D.C. TBD TBD 2023 Steve Smith Ricky Ponting[77] Sanjay Govil[78][b]

Tournament season and results

edit
MLC season winner
Season Venue Final Player of the series No. of teams
Winner Result Runners-up
2023 Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas MI New York
184/3 (16 overs)
MI New York won by 7 wickets
Scorecard
Seattle Orcas
183/9 (20 overs)
Nicholas Pooran
(MI New York)
6
2024 Washington Freedom
207/5 (20 overs)
Washington Freedom won by 96 runs
Scorecard
San Francisco Unicorns
111 (16 overs)
Travis Head
(Washington Freedom)

Teams' performances

edit

Seasons

edit
Seasons

Teams
2023 2024
Los Angeles Knight Riders 6th 5th
MI New York 1st 4th
San Francisco Unicorns 5th 2nd
Seattle Orcas 2nd 6th
Texas Super Kings 3rd 3rd
Washington Freedom 4th 1st

Venues

edit

On November 18, 2020, it was announced that ACE would lease AirHogs Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas—home of the former Texas AirHogs independent baseball team—and convert it to a cricket-specific facility that will host a Grand Prairie-based team in Major League Cricket.[79][80]

In March 2022, ACE discussed plans to invest $110 million in eight newly constructed or renovated venues for the league and possible hosting of matches during the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup (which the United States is co-hosting with the West Indies), including the aforementioned Grand Prairie Stadium, Church Street Park in Morrisville, Moosa Stadium in Pearland, Prairie View Cricket Complex in Prairie View, and new sites in Orange County (backed by the Knight Riders), the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, and Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington. The renovated venues have a budget of approximately $3 million each, while the three new west coast venues have a budget of $30 million each; ACE stated that the west coast venues would be completed by 2024, and will have a projected capacity of 10,000–20,000.[81][82] As of November 2022, it was reported that work on the other proposed pitches had not yet commenced.[32]

In February 2023, it was reported that most of the 2023 matches were set to be played in Grand Prairie, with Church Street Park set to be used as a secondary venue.[32][83] Due to the summer heat in Texas, it was reported by ESPNcricinfo that most matches would be scheduled as night games, rather than scheduled in the daytime hours to attract audiences in markets such as India.[32] With the announcement of the 2023 schedule, it was confirmed that a portion of the group stage will be played at Church Street Park; due to a curfew on the use of floodlights, these matches will begin in the early evening.[84] This was true for the 2024 season as well, with matches again being played in Grand Prairie and Morrisville.[85]

Broadcasters

edit

In the United States, MLC games are broadcast by Willow, with selected matches also being carried by CBS Sports Network, and over-the-top television service Sling TV also streaming matches as part of a sponsorship agreement.[86] For 2024, MLC also began to reach syndication agreements with regional sports networks, with YES Network announcing an agreement to air MI New York matches.[87]

International providers include TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland, ARY in Pakistan, and Prime Video in Australia and New Zealand.[88][89]

List of broadcasters (2024 season)

edit
Territory Channels and Online streaming
United States Willow TV, YES Network (MI New York games), Monumental Sports Network (Washington Freedom games)
Canada Willow TV
Australia and New Zealand Amazon Prime Video
Middle East and North Africa Cricbuzz
Pakistan A Sports
Sub-Saharan Africa ESPN
United Kingdom and Ireland TNT Sports
India Sony Sports Network (Television) & JioCinema (OTT)

Records and statistics

edit
Major League Cricket records[90]
Category Statistic Record holder Value
Batting Records Most runs Nicholas Pooran 388
Highest average Nicholas Pooran 64.66
Highest score Nicholas Pooran 134
Most sixes Nicholas Pooran 34
Bowling Records Most wickets Trent Boult 22
Best strike rate Tim David 6.00
Best economy rate Glenn Phillips 4.00
Fielding Most dismissals (wicket-keeper) Quinton de Kock 9
Most catches (fielder) Heinrich Klaasen 9
Team Records Highest total San Francisco 215/5, vs. New York
Lowest total Los Angeles 50, vs. New York

Minor League Cricket

edit

Minor League Cricket is a developmental league for Major League Cricket that completed its inaugural season in 2021.[18] It consists of 26 franchise-based teams in four regional divisions.[91] Unlike Major League Cricket, Minor League Cricket uses privately owned franchises.[52]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Although there are numerous other investors backing the team (such as Soma Somasegar and Sanjay Parthasarathy), Nadella and the GMR Group are the team's main stakeholders and investors.[71]
  2. ^ Although Govil has launched a strategic partnership with Cricket NSW, it is understood that there is no ownership element in the deal.[78]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Cognizant Named As Major League Cricket Title Partner". News | Cognizant Technology Solutions. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "MLC". www.majorleaguecricket.com. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "Cricket's American dream takes flight". Cricbuzz. July 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "USA set to give massive push to T20 cricket; Major League Cricket secures 100m pounds for tournament". The Shillong Times. September 6, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "The T20 Cricket in the US, the Major League Cricket, and the Future it Holds – Planet Cricket". planetcricket.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "The MLC's Saffer subculture". Cricbuzz. July 28, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Della Penna, Peter (November 27, 2018). "USA plan to launch their T20 League in 2021". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  8. ^ "USA Cricket receives $1 billion boost to develop T20 league". ESPNcricinfo. May 25, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  9. ^ "Times Group: US T20 league to be launched in partnership with the Times Group". The Economic Times. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  10. ^ Della Penna, Peter (October 6, 2022). "USA Cricket commercial partner deeply concerned over board's financial situation". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  11. ^ Della Penna, Peter (January 8, 2019). "USA formally approved to rejoin ICC as Associate Member under USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  12. ^ Della Penna, Peter (June 22, 2017). "USACA expelled by the ICC". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  13. ^ Della Penna, Peter (September 24, 2017). "New American governing body branded as USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  14. ^ Gladson, J.A.C. (September 26, 2017). "USA Cricket getting closer to becoming a new federation". Times of India. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  15. ^ Della Penna, Peter (February 22, 2020). "USA targets hosting ICC global events in next cycle". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  16. ^ "USA Cricket Announce Franchise-based T20 Competition". Yahoo! Cricket. February 28, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  17. ^ Williams, Bob (August 2, 2020). "USA Cricket re-evaluating Major League Cricket debut timing due to Covid-19 concerns". SportBusiness. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  18. ^ a b Barot, Dhruv (August 6, 2020). "Minor League Cricket Draft Announcement and Latest Update on Plans for 2020". USA Cricket. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  19. ^ Della Penna, Peter (October 15, 2020). "USA Cricket targets ICC Full Membership by 2030". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  20. ^ "Shah Rukh Khan's Knight Riders invests in US Major League Cricket". Business Standard News. December 1, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Bollywood's Shah Rukh Khan buys into Major League Cricket". SportsPro Media. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  22. ^ Dunmore, Tom (February 16, 2021). "Youth Cricketers to benefit from the new pathways created by MLC". Major League Cricket. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  23. ^ Della Penna, Peter (May 21, 2021). "USA's MLC T20 tournament pushed back to 2023 at AGM". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  24. ^ "Major League Cricket Secures $120M Funding to Drive American Cricket Development". Major League Cricket. May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  25. ^ Halverson, Alex (May 18, 2022). "Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella leads investment to launch US pro cricket league". American City Business Journals. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  26. ^ Della Penna, Peter (May 19, 2022). "Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Ross Perot Jr among investors committing $120 million to MLC". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  27. ^ Byers, Justin (May 18, 2022). "Major League Cricket Secures $120M to Expand in U.S." Front Office Sports. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  28. ^ "2022 UST Minor League Cricket Youth Tournament Announced". Minor League Cricket. June 10, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  29. ^ "Inaugural UST Minor League Cricket Youth Tournament Underway in Houston, TX". MLC Academies. Major League Cricket. July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  30. ^ Minor League Cricket [@milcusa] (July 29, 2022). "Watch as the New Jersey Stallions take on the Dallas Mustangs in the @USTglobal MiLC Youth 2022 Finals tomorrow at 9:30am CT in Houston, TX!!!" (Tweet). Retrieved July 29, 2022 – via Twitter.
  31. ^ "UST Emerging Cricketer Scholarships Awarded to Support Next Generation of American Cricket Talent". MLC Academies. Major League Cricket. July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  32. ^ a b c d Della Penna, Peter (November 15, 2022). "Major League Cricket set for July 2023 launch in Dallas". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  33. ^ "Major League Cricket To Lift Off At Inaugural Season Draft Set For March 19 In Houston". Major League Cricket. February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  34. ^ Della Penna, Peter (February 3, 2023). "MLC set to launch with draft on March 9 at NASA's Johnson Space Center". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  35. ^ "Major League Cricket to take off at inaugural season draft in Houston". Times Now. March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  36. ^ Booth, Lawrence (March 19, 2023). "Major League Cricket 2023 draft, all you need to know: Format, timings, top players, venue and more – MLC 2023 draft". Wisden. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  37. ^ Savage, Nic (March 20, 2023). "Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh sign on for inaugural Major League Cricket tournament". Fox Sports. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  38. ^ Della Penna, Peter (March 20, 2023). "Harmeet Singh goes first in MLC Draft to Seattle Orcas; Ali Khan and Unmukt Chand snapped by LA Knight Riders". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  39. ^ Lavalette, Tristan (March 20, 2023). "Australian Stars Highlight Signings For Historic American Pro Cricket League". Forbes. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  40. ^ "Major League Cricket: Full list of players picked in draft; international players signed for MLC 2023, squads, teams". Sportstar. March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  41. ^ Della Penna, Peter (March 23, 2023). "MLC start under threat after dispute between organisers and USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  42. ^ "MLC gets official ICC sanction ahead of July launch this year". ESPNcricinfo. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  43. ^ Kasi, Brashna (July 13, 2023). "America doesn't really care about cricket. Can Major League Cricket change that?". Sports. NPR. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  44. ^ "MLC 2024 set for July 4 start". Cricbuzz. December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  45. ^ "Major League Cricket Announces 2024 Season Window". Major League Cricket. December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  46. ^ "Major League Cricket 2024: List of retained players for MLC franchises ahead of second season". The Sporting News. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  47. ^ "DOMESTIC PLAYER RETENTIONS FOR MAJOR LEAGUE CRICKET 2024 ANNOUNCED". Major League Cricket. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  48. ^ "COGNIZANT NAMED AS MAJOR LEAGUE CRICKET TITLE PARTNER". Major League Cricket. March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  49. ^ "Major League Cricket gets official List A status from ICC ahead of second season". ESPNcricinfo. May 27, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  50. ^ "MLC gets List A status, eyes expansion to 10 teams". Cricbuzz. May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  51. ^ "Major League Cricket's expansion plan poses a threat to English competitions". The Guardian. May 27, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  52. ^ a b Williams, Bob (November 11, 2020). "49ers helping USA Cricket to push niche sport into the mainstream". SportBusiness. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  53. ^ Bull, Andy (May 27, 2024). "Major League Cricket's expansion plan poses a threat to English competitions". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  54. ^ Cassidy, Benjamin (July 26, 2022). "Cricket's Up to Bat in Seattle". Seattle Metropolitan. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  55. ^ "USA's Major League Cricket set to host its inaugural season draft in Houston". The Hindustan Times. March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  56. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (May 1, 2022). "Shah Rukh Khan's Knight Riders Group to Invest in $30 Million Cricket Stadium Near Los Angeles". Variety. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  57. ^ Stephenson, John (December 1, 2020). "Kolkata Knight Riders Invests in USA's Major League Cricket". Cricket Business News. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  58. ^ Biswas, Aakash (March 19, 2023). "Major League Cricket: Mumbai Indians Expand #OneFamily with New York Franchise". News18. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  59. ^ Della Penna, Peter (March 18, 2022). "USA T20 franchise league MLC projected to spend $110 million on facilities ahead of 2023 launch". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  60. ^ a b "Captain Pollard, Rashid, Boult headline MI New York 2023 squad". Mumbai Indians. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  61. ^ a b Patel, Smit (March 16, 2023). "DC's GMR group, MI and CSK to run MLC franchises". Cricbuzz. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  62. ^ Kassel, Ethan (March 17, 2023). "Meet San Francisco's Newest Pro Sports Team, the Unicorns". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  63. ^ Nguyen, Kevin (November 17, 2022). "San Francisco is Getting its Own Major League Cricket Team". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  64. ^ Patel, Smit (March 8, 2023). "Cricket Victoria follow NSW's footsteps to partner with Major League Cricket". Cricbuzz. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  65. ^ Bauer, Sydney (September 5, 2022). "Can Bay Area cricket be a launching pad for local prospects, new U.S. league?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  66. ^ Schlosser, Kurt (March 16, 2023). "Meet the Seattle Orcas: New pro cricket team is backed by Microsoft CEO and other tech leaders". GeekWire. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  67. ^ Lavalette, Tristan (February 26, 2022). "With Cricket Blossoming There, Seattle Looms As A Venue For The 2024 T20 World Cup". Forbes. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  68. ^ Gollapudi, Nagraj (March 16, 2023). "Owners of Mumbai Indians, CSK, Delhi Capitals to own teams in USA's Major League Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  69. ^ Shapiro, Nina (April 2, 2023). "Major League Cricket is coming to Seattle. Will it become the new soccer?". The Seattle Times.
  70. ^ White, Ian (March 17, 2023). "Satya Nadella, GMR group bag rights for a team in US' T20 franchise Major League Cricket". Business Insider. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  71. ^ "Delhi Capitals joins hands with Satya Nadella to own Major League Cricket team in U.S." The Hindu. March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  72. ^ Gubbins, Teresa (March 20, 2023). "Texas' first professional cricket team unveils new name and team roster". CultureMap Dallas. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  73. ^ Rajwani-Dharsi, Naheed (March 21, 2023). "Texas' Major League Cricket team announces name, coach". Axios. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  74. ^ Swanger, Ben and Crow, Suzanne (May 27, 2022). "Anurag Jain Wants to Make Dallas America's Cricket Capital". D Magazine. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  75. ^ Skores, Alexandra (May 24, 2022). "Major League Cricket readies plans with big-name investors Ross Perot Jr. and Anurag Jain". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  76. ^ Kenny, Katie (March 15, 2023). "Say Hello to DC's New Major League Cricket Team, the Washington Freedom". Washingtonian. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  77. ^ "Ponting confirmed as Washington Freedom head coach in Major League Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  78. ^ a b McGlashan, Andrew (February 17, 2023). "Coming to America: New South Wales signs deal with Major League Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  79. ^ DiFurio, Dom (November 18, 2020). "Grand Prairie approves stadium redevelopment plan that could make the city a premiercricket destination". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  80. ^ Della Penna, Peter (November 20, 2020). "Former Dallas baseball stadium to become 'new home of USA cricket'". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  81. ^ Della Penna, Peter (March 18, 2022). "USA T20 franchise league MLC projected to spend $110 million on facilities ahead of 2023 launch". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  82. ^ "MLC STADIUM DEVELOPMENT TIMELINES AND ADDITIONAL VENUES ANNOUNCED". Major League Cricket. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  83. ^ "Steve Smith reportedly looking to join $174 million Major League Cricket next year". Fox Sports. February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  84. ^ "Morrisville on track to enhance cricket experience, host Major League Cricket events". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. May 4, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  85. ^ Roller, Matt (May 7, 2024). "MLC 2024 to begin on July 5, set for six-day clash with the Hundred". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  86. ^ Cunningham, Euan (July 18, 2023). "MLC adds CBS and Sling TV as domestic coverage partners". Sportcal. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  87. ^ "Team USA's T20 cricket story shines light on sport's hope to grow in the U.S." Sports Business Journal. June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  88. ^ "Where to watch Major League Cricket: live stream MLC 2023, TV channels, venues, fixtures". thecricketer.com. July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  89. ^ "MLC". www.majorleaguecricket.com. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  90. ^ ESPNcricinfo
  91. ^ "Player registration portal opened for inaugural Minor League Cricket". Major League Cricket t20. July 2, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
edit