The Difference Between Minor League Cricket and Major League Cricket
A new elite cricket competition hits our airwaves in July, but what is the difference between Major League Cricket and Minor League Cricket (MiLC)?
The feeder competition forms the bedrock of USA Cricket's vision and features 29 teams from all across the nation competing each season since 2021.
What is the Difference Between Major League Cricket and Minor League Cricket?
The answer is simple - MiLC is the developmental league for the MLC.
What is the MLC and USA Cricket attempting to achieve by introducing the feeder competition? According to its website, the MiLC is a "pathway to elite performance opportunities for American cricketers across the nation". As a result, the tournament has reinvigorated the domestic cricket scene in the U.S., providing hundreds of young prospects with a high-quality training programme and exposure to national team selectors. It is the only competition where players across the country can compete coast-to-coast.
The teams participating in MiLC represent various American cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Houston, Dallas and Washington D.C. Each city has its unique team and style of play, and team rivalries are already forming, despite the competition's
MiLC has become one of the most popular cricket tournaments in America and is growing each season. It continues providing a platform for fans to experience high-quality cricket, creating local rivalries and fostering community among participating teams.
What is the history MiLC? How does the MiLC work? Why is it worth following MiLC throughout the season?
We examine all those questions and more in our full Minor League Cricket analysis below.
The Origins of Minor League Cricket
Silicon Valley Strikers posing for the inaugural MiLC championship title in 2021
Talks had begun on forming a developmental Twenty20 league in America as recently as 2018, coinciding with the announcement of USA Cricket as the new governing body of the sport.
Thanks to a largely sparse cricketing landscape in the USA, the MiLC had carte blanche to shape a new model, and by 2020, they had put in place a framework from which the MiLC operates.
The Coronavirus pandemic put paid to its first season, but by 2021, the wheels were turning and the inaugural MiLC tournament got underway.
All of the matches were streamed on SlingTV and Willow, as 27 teams battled it out for the inaugural championship title, which was awarded to the Silicon Valley Strikers, who beat the New Jersey Stallions in a classic West Coast vs East Coast confrontation.
How Does Minor League Cricket Work?
The MiLC season is split into two stages - the league stage and playoffs. There are four divisions during the league stage -- the Western Division, Central Division, Eastern Division, and Southern Division.
During the league stage, teams in each division will play a maximum of 16 games to decide their standings for the following round. At the end of this stage, the top two teams from each division will qualify for the quarterfinals, where the 1st-placed team from one division will be pitted against the 2nd-placed team from the other in a best-of-three series.
The remaining matches are all knockout games, culminating with a semifinal match between teams from each conference that sends one to the finals.
USA Cricket put forward a massive prize pool of $250,000 for the first-ever MiLC cricket season - the highest-ever offered in American cricket. This sum was increased to $350,000 for the 2022 season, with the champions, the Seattle Thunderbolts, receiving $150,000.
How does Minor League Cricket Impact Major League Cricket?
Saideep Ganesh, Ali Sheikh, and Saiteja Mukkamalla, have all graduated from Minor League Cricket to Major League Cricket
Not only is the MiLC an engaging and exciting competition in its own right, it also acts as a springboard for young prospects to play on the national stage.
In our Top Five U23 Players To Watch During The MLC article, four players enjoyed spectacular campaigns with MiLC teams. Their season-long performances, coupled with promising displays at the Major League Cricket Draft Combine, helped them land contracts with Indian Premier League-backed franchises in the MLC.
That means every game in the MiLC matters. Every player from every team knows they must play hard and impress, understanding that the better they perform, the likelier they are to land an exciting and more significant contract with a Major League Cricket franchise.
At the MLC draft, each of the six teams has an $800,000 budget to use on overseas stars and a $200,000 budget for domestic players. The athlete keeps any money spent on them on the draft, so the financial AND career opportunities are vast!
What is the Future of Minor League Cricket?
Much depends on the commercial success of Major League Cricket, but there is no doubt governing body, Cricket USA, has gotten to grips with how to market the sport to a broader audience. Now, it's all about giving the sport time to breathe in its new and exciting format that caters to elite athletes and domestic players alike.
The league's success can already be measured by the fact that the Houston Hurricanes had been slated to embark on a historic tour of Pakistan in January 2023 to take on Pakistan Super League (PSL) giants Quetta Gladiators. Safety concerns forced a postponement to a later date, but the fact the Hurricanes could face one of the premier domestic teams in world Twenty20 cricket shows just how far MiLC teams have come in a short amount of time.
Undoubtedly, cricket in the U.S. can become a popular sport and help spread its appeal beyond traditional cricketing nations. With the right resources, infrastructure and leadership, the sport could become a significant player in the U.S. sports market. The future of cricket in the USA looks very bright indeed!
However, it is essential to note that the challenges remain significant, and continued growth will depend on all stakeholders – from players to coaches to sponsors – working together to make cricket in the U.S. a success. With the proper support and investment, cricket will have a strong future in America.
Which Teams Have Won the MiLC?
So far, in its infancy, there have been two champions in the MiLC - they are as follows:
2021: Silicon Valley Strikers beat New Jersey Stallions by six wickets.
2022: Seattle Thunderbolts beat the Atlanta Fire by 10 runs.