What is the MLC?
The second-most popular sport in the world is getting a good old-fashioned revamp in the USA. The Major League Cricket (MLC) is getting the sort of expansive and glitzy treatment one would expect from a country that knows how to put on a show.
With over $40 million in confirmed funding and more than $100 million in collaborative partnerships, the MLC represents a new era in a landscape that has struggled to provide cricket with the sort of stage it enjoys in other parts of the world.
However, times-are-a-changing! The USA is the co-host for the cricket World Cup in 2024, while Los Angeles 2028 is being earmarked as the Olympics where cricket makes a triumphant return.
But what is the Major League Cricket? How did it come to be? What are the teams? Who are the star players?
We'll cover all that and more in our full Major League Cricket lowdown below!
What is the Major League Cricket?
An 18-day tournament will run from 13th July 2023 until 30th July 2023 and comprise 19 matches from six different franchises.
The six franchises will play 15 league matches in a round-robin format, followed by a four-match play-off phase for the top four teams.
Tournament organizers recently announced that most of the inaugural season games would be played at Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas, with Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, serving as a secondary venue.
How Did The Major League Cricket (MLC) Start?
After a series of governing issues with the now-defunct United States of America Cricket Association (USACA), USA Cricket was established in January 2019 with one mission in mind. The organization was tasked with steering the perception of cricket away from its status as a niche international sport and carrying it into the mainstream.
Chairman Paraag Marathe, who has since resigned from his role to help settle a legal dispute brought against the body, staked the future of USA Cricket on the MLC. Just before the pandemic took full effect, in January 2020, the USA Cricket organization laid out plans to introduce the league after a successful Annual General Meeting (AGM). Despite being beset by several pandemic-induced delays, the newest addition to the burgeoning cricketing landscape will finally get underway this summer.
Who Are The Star Names To Sign Up For The Inaugural Major League Cricket Tournament?
Former Australian captain Aaron Finch and South African Quinton de Kock were just two of the several overseas signings announced during the Domestic Player Draft on Sunday, 19th March, with each team picking nine US-based players. Other overseas signings included one of the world’s best spinners in Sri Lankan Wanindu Hasaranga and South African pace demon Anrich Nortje.
More high-profile signings will be announced over the coming months, as teams complete their rosters with an allotted $1 million budget each. A mammoth $800,000 is siphoned off for overseas players, while a further $200,000 is spent on US-based players.
What Is The Link Between The Major League Cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL)?
No fewer than four IPL teams will own a franchise in Major League Cricket, each of them acquiring the following:
The Delhi Capitals have purchased the Seattle Orcas.
The Kolkata Knight Riders own the Los Angeles Knight Riders.
The Mumbai Indians hold the rights to the MI New York team.
The Chennai Super Kings are owners of the Texas Super Kings.
Some Australian outfits have also partnered with the remaining franchises, with Cricket Victoria and San Francisco Unicorns joining forces, while Washington Freedom is tapping into the expertise of Cricket New South Wales.
The move by IPL owners to expand their business interests into emerging cricketing markets has drawn the ire of some at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), with some sources preferring to restrict the immense financial potential to the most lucrative cricket league in the world.
Will Major League Cricket Be A Success?
There is every reason to think it will be! According to a recent report from the Migration Policy Institute, more than 4.9 million people living in the USA are either Indian born or report Indian ancestry.
The recent Indian Cricket Fandom Report 2023, conducted by YouGov, showed that 52% of the Indian population had watched the sport in the previous 12 months.
Add to the fact that the USA is a melting pot of cultures, many of which are just as passionate about the sport; then there is a healthy starting point from which to build for tournament organizers.
Investors, which have collectively pumped $120 million into this project, will hope to convert some baseball fans too. Ex-England international Liam Plunkett, who will be participating in the MLC as a domestic player after moving to the USA with his wife, revealed recently in an interview that he was astonished at how far his baseball-mad friends could throw. He told the Guardian newspaper: "I [visited] maybe 13 years ago, and I always thought to myself I had one of the better arms in cricket in England, and I just went to the local park in Philadelphia with a few of my friends at college or who worked in Home Depot, and I think all four of them had a better arm than me".
Though the sport's physical similarities may stop at a distance a player can throw, the match-viewing experience is two feathers from the same bird. The continuous hum of contented excitement, sudden bursts of energy reacting to in-game action, and gasps of disbelief at elite athleticism are all attributes you can attach to both baseball and cricket crowds.
Whether there is a conversion for baseball fans remains to be seen, but there are enough building blocks in place to encourage investors of vast and untapped potential.