MLC keeps hopes of popularizing cricket in the USA alive

The first edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC) wrapped up in Dallas on Sunday night (July 30). Nicholas Pooran, the stand-in MI New York skipper, saved his best for the last, scoring an unbeaten 137 off only 55 deliveries, striking 13 sixes as the MI-NY clinched the maiden honors in the league. 

The fireworks had nothing on Nicky P tonight, NOTHING! 🎇The moment we became the first #MajorLeagueCricket champions. 🏆💙 #OneFamily #MINewYork pic.twitter.com/8bXE7Aq3V4

— MI New York (@MINYCricket) July 31, 2023

The league started with the sole objective of promoting cricket in the Americas. The debut season has done well in that regard. Plenty of matches in this pocket-sized league (19 matches in the competition) were sold out. The final between MI New York and the Seattle Orcas saw a record crowd of around 7000 in Dallas. The signs are good and you can rely on the large number of South Asian and Caribbean expats based in the US to spread the word around.

With the season wrapped up, we look back at how things panned out in the league. 

The Champions 🏆

The MI New York didn’t have the best of the starts. Starting the season with a defeat, they lost one, and won one throughout their five games in the league stage. Sneaking into the playoffs with a fourth-spot qualification, their task was humongous. They had to win three games in a row - the Eliminator, the Qualifier 2 and the final. Moreover, they had lost their captain Kieron Pollard to an injury. 

Nicholas Pooran took the baton from Pollard and turned things around. In the Eliminator, MI-NY were 12/1 after the five overs batting first. Dewald Brevis and Tim David stretched the score to 141/7. Trent Boult’s 4/20 and the left-arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige’s 2/19 alongside a run out from a direct hit ushered MI-NY to a 16-run win. 

They then blanked the Texas Super Kings in one of the biggest franchise rivalries around the world to advance to the finals. And then it was the Nicholas Pooran show that clinched another title for the MI franchise. 

Big Performers

Both the highest run-scorer and the highest wicket-taker in the tournament were from MI New York. Pooran blasted 388 runs at a strike-rate of 167.2, including two fifties and a hundred in the final. His tally was 124 runs more than the next best Quinton de Kock for the runners up. 

𝓞𝓷 𝓻𝓮𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓽 🔄

Can’t stop watching @nicholaspooran’s 1️⃣3️⃣ sixes he hit today‼️ #MLC2023 #MLCFINAL pic.twitter.com/OynKTi2xnD

— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) July 31, 2023

Heinrich Klaasen was the third on the run-scoring chart - 235 runs at a staggering strike-rate of 197.5. He scored the first hundred in the MLC history - 110* off only 44 balls with seven sixes against MI-NY in Match 15. 

Moving to the bowlers, Trent Boult pouched 22 wickets in only eight games, 11 wickets more than Cameron Gannon and Andrew Tye (both playing for Orcas). The Kiwi seamer had a special tournament. Boult had three two-wicket hauls, two three-wicket hauls and three four-wicket hauls. In addition, his economy was only 7.2. A true giant in the format, if ever there’s one.

Faf’s streak comes to an end 

Faf du Plessis’ hot streak as a T20 batter came to an end in the MLC. Heading into the competition, du Plessis had 1139 runs in 26 T20 innings this year (average 47.5, strike-rate 149.7). He was the highest run-scorer for Johannesburg Super Kings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore in SA20 2022/23 and IPL 2023 respectively. However, he couldn’t get it right in America for Texas Super Kings. 

Du Plessis managed only 46 runs in seven innings, averaging 6.57. Sunil Narine (53 runs in five innings) and Marco Jansen (67 runs in five innings) were more successful batters than the TSK skipper. Du Plessis would be glad that the statistics in the MLC won’t be counted in the official T20 records. His average would have fallen from 32.3 to 31.7. 

In other dud performers of the season, Marcus Stoinis (74 runs in five innings), Aaron Finch (68 runs in five innings) and Finn Allen (75 runs in five innings) were some of the international stars who disappointed with the bat. 

Among the bowlers, Anrich Nortje picked only two wickets at 91 runs per wicket in six matches. He conceded runs only at an economy of 7.9 but Washington Freedom missed his wicket-taking proficiency. Mitchell Santner was also underpar with the ball for TSK. In seven games, Santner picked only four wickets at an average of 41.3 and economy of 8.3 runs per over, both his highest in a tournament in a long time. 

Another glum season for the Knight Riders

The Knight Riders kingdom didn’t find solace in America as well. The primary franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders haven’t qualified for the playoffs in the last two IPL editions. In CPL, Trinbago Knight Riders were the wooden spoon holders in the last season. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Los Angeles Knight Riders have faced the same fate in the inaugural ILT20 and MLC seasons. 

LAKR were in danger of losing all their league games when Rilee Rossouw’s swashbuckling 78* saved them from the embarrassment. All these four sides had Andre Russell and Sunil Narine playing together. 

Where does the humiliation end for the Knight Riders’ franchise network? Probably the upcoming CPL season. 

Saurabh Netravalkar holding the USA flag high

The former India U19 cricketer now based in the US, Saurabh Netravalkar was the most impactful American player in the maiden MLC season. The fifth highest wicket-taker in the season, Netravalkar nabbed 10 wickets in six games, averaging 15.9 runs apiece at an economy of 7.3. 

"OH, NICE!" - Saurabh Netravalkar 😃

Saurabh Netravalkar gets his SECOND WICKET in the over with two SWINGING BEAUTIES! 🌪️

2⃣5⃣/3⃣ (4.0) pic.twitter.com/4nxE45jlcb

— Major League Cricket (@MLCricket) July 22, 2023

A left-arm pacer, Netravalkar was hard to play in the powerplay where he pouched five wickets at an economy of 6.1. Against San Francisco Unicorns, Netravalkar had figures of 3.5-0-9-6 where he cleaned up Marcus Stoinis and Shadab Khan on successive deliveries with hooping in-swingers bowled from around the wicket. The bemused look on the face of both Stoinis and Shadab spoke for the quality of Netravalkar. 

How did the other Indian players do? 

No other US player of Indian descent set the stage on fire. Unmukt Chand (LAKR), the most high-profile Indian player in the league, courtesy of leading India to the U19 World Cup win in 2012, scored 68 runs in four innings. Monank Patel (MINY), the USA skipper who hails from Gujarat, averaged 10.5 for his 63 runs. Smit Patel didn’t get a chance to bat in the Unicorns’ campaign. 

Among the bowlers, the left-arm orthodox spinner, Harmeet Singh played all seven games for Orcas, picking seven wickets at a decent average (23.4) and economy (7.1). Meanwhile, the leg-spinner from Punjab, Sarabjit Ladda played one game for MINY, returning figures of 1/43 in three overs. His third over was smashed for 29 runs by Shadab Khan and Corey Anderson.