Major League Cricket

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For the former cricket promoter, see Major League Cricket (defunct).

Major League Cricket
Upcoming season or competition:
Current sports event 2023
Major League Cricket.png
SportCricket
FoundedJanuary 2019; 2 years ago (January 2019)
Inaugural season2023
Owner(s)American Cricket Enterprises
No. of teams6
Country United States
Related
competitions		Minor League Cricket
Official websitemajorleaguecricket.com

Major League Cricket (MLC) is an upcoming professional Twenty20 cricket league in the United States. Operated by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) and sanctioned by USA Cricket, it plans to begin play in 2023, with six teams in major U.S. cities under a single-entity model. In 2021, the development league for MLC, Minor League Cricket (MiLC), completed its inaugural season, which was contested by 27 franchise-based teams.

History[]

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),[1] and the American Premier League, a proposed league in partnership between the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) and New Zealand Cricket, modeled after domestic T20 competitions.

In January 2019, USA Cricket was approved as a new associate member of the International Cricket Council,[2] replacing the USACA, which had been expelled in September 2017 due to governance issues.[3]

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.[4][5]

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".[1] In May 2019, USA Cricket accepted a bid by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) for a $1 billion investment, covering the league and other investments benefitting the U.S. national teams. Its partners include Satyan Gajwani and Vineet Jain of The Times Group, and Willow TV founders Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan.[6][7]

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.[8] Minor League Cricket was officially announced the following week, with plans to host a nine-week, 170-game season beginning July 4.[9] However, it was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[10][11]

In October 2020, USA Cricket reaffirmed plans to launch Major League Cricket in 2022 as part of its "foundational plan" for 2020–23.[12] 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.[13][14] 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 (such as AirHogs Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, which is being redeveloped by ACE as a cricket-specific stadium).[15]

Teams[]

MLC is expected to begin with six teams; the league will use a single-entity structure under all teams are owned by ACE, with investor-operators for each team who hold stakes in the company.[16] It hopes to expand to eight teams in the future, similar to other T20 leagues around the world.[17]

USA Cricket's CEO Iain Higgins identified Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York, and San Francisco as markets where the sport was most popular.[18] On November 18, 2020, it was announced that ACE would lease AirHogs Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas—home of the former Texas AirHogs baseball team—and convert it to a cricket-specific facility that will host a Dallas-based team in Major League Cricket.[19][20] USA Cricket also seperately announced that they had 5 venues (including the Broward Cricket Stadium and the AirHogs Stadium) for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup; meaning that 3 other venues, which have yet to named, are under construction.[21]

Minor League Cricket[]

Main article: Minor League Cricket
Minor League Cricket
Most recent season or competition:
2021
Minor League Cricket inaugural Logo.png
The logo for the inaugural season of Minor League Cricket.
SportCricket
Founded2019
Inaugural seasonJuly 31, 2021
No. of teams27 in four divisions
CountryUnited States
Most recent
champion(s)		Silicon Valley Strikers
Most titlesSilicon Valley Strikers (1 title)
Sponsor(s)Toyota
Official websitemilc.majorleaguecricket.com

Minor League Cricket (branded as the Toyota Minor League Cricket Championship presented by Sling TV for sponsorship reasons, and shortened to MiLC)[22] is a developmental league for Major League Cricket that completed its inaugural season in 2021 (delayed from 2020 due to COVID-19).[11] It consists of 27 franchise-based teams in four regional divisions.[23] The league began its regional draft process in late-August 2020, and a series of exhibition games in September 2020.[11] The draft for the league began on June 4, 2021.[24]

Unlike Major League Cricket, Minor League Cricket uses privately owned franchises.[16] ACE announced the 24 teams and their owners on August 15, 2020.[25] Minor League Cricket added 3 more teams on June 3, 2021.[26] The Minor League Cricket inaugural season had a total prize pool of US$250,000, the highest ever in American cricket.

The season began on July 31, 2021 and culminated in the final on October 3, 2021, with the Silicon Valley Strikers beating the New Jersey Stallions by 6 wickets.[27][28][29]

Major League Cricket is located in the United States
Morgan Hill
Morgan Hill
Santa Clara
Santa Clara
Leo Magnus Complex
Arroyo Park
Arroyo Park
Canyonside Park
Canyonside Park
Klahanie Park
Klahanie Park
Marymoor Park
Moosa Stadium
Moosa Stadium
BPL Stadium
BPL Stadium
Washington Park
Washington Park
McKinney Ground
McKinney Ground
Sandy Lake Ground
Sandy Lake Ground
Prairie View
Prairie View
Lyon Oaks
Lyon Oaks
ACAC Park
ACAC Park
Keney Park
Keney Park
Howe
Howe
Idlewild/Canarsie
Idlewild/Canarsie
Exton Park
Exton Park
Veterans Memorial
Veterans Memorial
Atlanta
Atlanta
Dalton
Broward Stadium
Broward Stadium
Maq Stadium
Maq Stadium
Church St. Park
Silverstar
Silverstar










  • Orange pog.svg - Western Division (Pacific Conference)
  • DeepPink pog.svg - Central Division (Pacific Conference)
  • Lightgreen pog.svg - Eastern Division (Atlantic Conference)
  • Turquoise pog.svg - Southern Division (Atlantic Conference)
Division Club City Venue Owners
Pacific Conference
Western Silicon Valley Strikers Bay Peninsula Morgan Hills Outdoor Sports Complex, California bInfinite
Bay Blazers East Bay Santa Clara Cricket Field, California Premkumar Suri and Partners
Hollywood Master Blasters Los Angeles Leo Magnus Cricket Complex, California Shahrukh Khan
SoCal Lashings Cricket Los Angeles Leo Magnus Cricket Complex, California Abhimanyu Rajp
Deepak Gosain
Golden State Grizzlies Sacramento Arroyo Park, California ACE
San Diego Surf Riders[30] San Diego Canyonside Park, California Rajinder Ghai
Gangaram Singh
Sanjit Menezes
Jimmy Anklesaria
Ram Madabushi
Seattle Thunderbolts Seattle Klahanie Park, Washington

Marymoor Park, Washington

Seattle Sports LLC
Phani Chitneni
Vijay Beniwal
Salman Taj
Central Austin Athletics Austin Moosa Stadium, Texas Manish Patel and Partners
Chicago Blasters Chicago BPL Cricket Stadium, Illinois Iftekhar Shareef
Khurram Syed
American Cricket Academy and Club
Chicago Catchers Chicago Washington Park, Illinois Cricket Management Group, LLC
Irving Mustangs Dallas McKinney Cricket Ground, Texas

Sandy Lake Cricket Ground, Texas

Lovkesh Kalia
Houston Hurricanes Houston Prairie View Cricket Complex, Texas Tanweer Ahmed
Michigan Cricket Stars Michigan Lyon Oaks Cricket Ground, Michigan Nabeel Ahmed
Michigan Cricket Stars, LLC
St. Louis Americans St. Louis ACAC Park, Missouri n.a
Atlantic Conference
Eastern New England Eagles Hartford Keney Park Cricket Field, Connecticut Ravi Rao
Jack Patel
Nitin Mewada
Pawan Daruri
Ravi Uppalapati
New Jersey Somerset Cavaliers Cricket Club Somerset Howe Athletic Complex, New Jersey Aslam Khan
Muhammad Nisar Ahmed
New Jersey Stallions Jersey City Howe Athletic Complex, New Jersey Venu Palaparthi
Ravikumar Suri
Empire State Titans New York City Idlewild Park, Queens, New York Empire State Cricket
Manhattan Yorkers[31] New York City Canarsie Park, Brooklyn, New York Manhattan Yorkers Sports Club
The Philadelphians Philadelphia Exton Park, Pennsylvania William Precious
Murali Kailashnath
Santhosh Kandasamy
Mayurnath Sankar Rao
Sathya Narayana C.V
Jaisri Murahari
Southern DC Hawks[32] Washington DC Veterans Memorial Park, Virginia Rajit Passey
Atlanta Fire Atlanta Atlanta Cricket Fields, Georgia Mohammed Hasan Tarek
Atlanta Param Veers Atlanta Dalton Cricket Field, Georgia Jayesh Patel
Fort Lauderdale Lions Fort Lauderdale Central Broward Stadium, Florida Krishna Persaud
Florida Beamers Miami Maq Cricket Stadium, Florida Cricket Management Group, LLC
Morrisville Cardinals Morrisville Church Street Park, North Carolina Praveen Chakraraj and Partners
Orlando Galaxy Orlando Silverstar Recreation Center, Florida Rahul Joshi
Kunal Patel
Ravi Panchal
Mangesh Chaudhari

References[]

  1. ^ a b "USA plan to launch their T20 League in 2021". ESPNcricinfo. November 27, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  2. ^ "USA formally approved to rejoin ICC as Associate Member under USA Cricket". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  3. ^ "USACA expelled by the ICC". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  4. ^ "New American governing body branded as USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  5. ^ Gladson, J.A.C. (September 26, 2017). "USA Cricket getting closer to becoming a new federation". Times of India. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  6. ^ "USA Cricket receives $1 billion boost to develop T20 league". ESPNcricinfo. May 25, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  7. ^ "Times Group: US T20 league to be launched in partnership with the Times Group". The Economic Times. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  8. ^ "USA targets hosting ICC global events in next cycle". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  9. ^ "USA Cricket Announce Franchise-based T20 Competition". Yahoo! Cricket. February 28, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  10. ^ "USA Cricket re-evaluating Major League Cricket debut timing due to Covid-19 concerns". SportBusiness. August 2, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c "Minor League Cricket Draft Announcement and Latest Update on Plans for 2020". USA Cricket. August 6, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  12. ^ "USA Cricket targets ICC Full Membership by 2030". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "Shah Rukh Khan's Knight Riders invests in US Major League Cricket | Business Standard News".
  14. ^ "Bollywood's Shah Rukh Khan buys into Major League Cricket". SportsPro Media. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  15. ^ "USA's MLC T20 tournament pushed back to 2023 at AGM". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  16. ^ a b "49ers helping USA Cricket to push niche sport into the mainstream". SportBusiness. November 11, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  17. ^ "Major League Cricket Coming To North Texas". Texas Standard. September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021. William Swann is vice president of corporate development for Major League Cricket... Swann says the league hopes to expand to eight teams later on.
  18. ^ "Bollywood's Shah Rukh Khan buys into Major League Cricket". SportsPro Media. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  19. ^ "Grand Prairie approves stadium redevelopment plan that could make the city a premier U.S. cricket destination". The Dallas Morning News. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  20. ^ "Former Dallas baseball stadium to become 'new home of USA cricket'". ESPNcricinfo. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  21. ^ "Cricket West Indies and USA Cricket Hail Successful Joint Bid to Host ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2024". USA Cricket. November 16, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  22. ^ "Toyota to Sponsor Inaugural Minor League Cricket Championship Presented by Sling TV - USA Cricket". USA Cricket. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  23. ^ "Player registration portal opened for inaugural Minor League Cricket". Cricbuzz. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  24. ^ Hays, Nate (June 4, 2021). "Americans ready for Minor League Cricket Draft". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  25. ^ "Minor League Cricket Announces Franchise Owners and Draft Update". USA Cricket. August 15, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  26. ^ "3 New Teams Confirmed For Minor League Cricket Ahead Of Draft Day Friday June 4". Minor League Cricket. USA Cricket. June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  27. ^ "Minor League 2021 Draft to Take Place on Friday". Minor League Cricket. June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  28. ^ "2021 Minor League Cricket". Minor League Cricket. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  29. ^ "USA Cricket". Twitter. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  30. ^ "Minor League Cricket debuting in San Diego in August -". KUSI-TV. McKinnon Broadcasting. July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  31. ^ "Retired from Indian cricket, Smit Patel joins Manhattan Yorkers for Minor League Cricket". Times Now. June 5, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  32. ^ "Punjab cricketers move to US with eye on national team". Hindustan Times. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.

External links[]

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