Franchise Cricket

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Xavier Bartlett scored his maiden T20 half-century to lead San Francisco Unicorns to an unexpected three-wicket win over MI New York and maintain their unbeaten start to the 2025 MLC season.

Chasing 183 in Oakland, Unicorns collapsed to 42-4 in the powerplay, including losing big hitters Finn Allen and Jake Fraser-McGurk for 13 and one, respectively.

Hassan Khan reignited their innings, scoring a 17-ball 43 and putting on 64 runs off 31 balls with Tim Seifert but when Bartlett walked in at number eight in the 13th over, Unicorns needed 75 runs off 46 balls.

However, the Australia international saw his side home with five balls to spare, smashing five sixes and four fours in an unbeaten 59 (25).

Earlier, Quinton de Kock had top-scored with 63 (38) and received support from Kieron Pollard (30 off 16), Monank Patel (20 off 14) and Sunny Patel (20 off 11) as MI New York posted 182-7. Haris Rauf took 2-24.

Texas Super Kings made it two wins from two with a 57-run victory over Los Angeles Knight Riders.

The Super Knights lost captain Faf du Plessis for eight in the third over but 50 partnerships between Devon Conway and Saiteja Mukkamalla (57 off 31) and Daryl Mitchell and Donovan Ferreira (61 off 31) for the second and fifth wickets, respectively, helped them to 181-4.

Noor Ahmad then took 4-25 as the Knight Riders were skittled for 124 in 17.1 overs. Number nine Shadley van Schalkwyk top-scored with 27 (21) after five of the eight previous batters had failed to pass two.

San Francisco Unicorns sit top of the table with six points while Texas Super Kings are second with four. Winless MI New York and Los Angeles Knight Riders are fourth and fifth, respectively.

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Jake Fraser-McGurk returned to form with a 38-ball 88 as San Francisco Unicorns beat Los Angeles Knight Riders by 32 runs to maintain their winning start to the 2025 Major League Cricket season.

The Australia international headed into the match on a run of five consecutive single-figure scores but smashed 11 sixes and two fours to propel his side to 219-8.

Finn Allen, whose 151 in the season opener against Washington Freedom broke the record for the highest score in MLC history, also scored a half-century, posting 52 off 27, and the pair put on 121 runs off just 55 balls for the second wicket.

Los Angeles Knight Riders lost opener Alex Hales for six in the second over and while Unmukt Chand (53 off 32), Matthew Tromp (41 off 31) and captain Sunil Narine (27 off 13) made contributions with the bat, they fell well short of their 220-run target.

Xavier Bartlett and Haris Rauf picked up four wickets apiece but former England international Liam Plunkett's wicketless four overs cost 45 runs.

Washington Freedom bounced back from their 123-run defeat against the Unicorns with a comfortable five-wicket win over Seattle Orcas.

Freedom, whose bowlers were hit for 269 runs on Thursday, restricted Seattle Orcas to 145-9. Openers David Warner (31) and Kyle Mayers (27) were the only players to pass 20 while Ian Holland picked up 4-19 as the batting side lost seven wickets for 50 runs in the second half of their innings.

A 49-run opening stand off just 18 deliveries between Rachin Ravindra (44 off 18) and Mitch Owen (25 off 11) broke the back of Freedom's chase before captain Glenn Maxwell's unbeaten 38 (20) saw the defending champions home with 39 balls to spare.

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Daryl Mitchell defended nine off the final over as Texas Super Kings held on to beat MI New York in Major League Cricket.

New Zealander Mitchell had been taken for 50 off his first three overs, but conceded two singles and two leg-byes off the first five balls of the final over.

That left MI needing five off the last ball but Tajinder Singh could only take a single to give Super Kings a three-win run at Oakland Coliseum in California.

Super Kings were asked to bat first and posted 185-6 with New Zealand's Devon Conway striking 65 off 44 balls and USA all-rounder Calvin Savage an unbeaten 53 from 34 deliveries.

MI were reduced to 24-3 in the powerplay with New Zealand's Adam Milne removing openers Agni Chopra and Quinton de Kock before Afghanistan leg-spinner Noor Ahmad had Nicholas Pooran caught.

A stand of 97 between Monank Patel (62 off 44) and Michael Bracewell (38 off 21) left MI needing 65 from 39 balls.

Kieron Pollard smashed 32 off 16 deliveries, including 18 off four balls to start the 17th, but Mitchell had him and Patel run out in successive deliveries to turn the game in Super Kings' favour and they successfully defended 27 from the final three overs for the win.

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New Zealand's Finn Allen smashed a stunning 151 off 51 balls and broke Chris Gayle's sixes record as San Francisco Unicorns thrashed defending champions Washington Freedom by 123 runs in the opening game of the 2025 Major League Cricket (MLC).

Allen smashed 19 sixes - beating Gayle's record of 18 in a T20 innings - as Unicorns posted an MLC record 269-5 in the first game played at Oakland Coliseum in California.

His 151 is the highest score in MLC history and the joint-14th highest in all T20s.

His century came up off 34 balls, making it the fastest in the MLC and second-fastest in all T20 franchise leagues behind Gayle's 30-ball effort for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in the IPL in 2013.

However, Allen beat the record for the fastest 150, reaching the landmark in 49 balls, bettering Dewald Brevis' 52 balls in his 162 for South Africa's domestic T20 league in 2022.

Freedom, who are coached by Australia great Ricky Ponting, raced to 50-0 off 3.2 overs and 79-0 after five overs, but openers Rachin Ravindra (42 off 17) and Mitchell Owen (39 off 20) were dismissed in successive openers.

That sparked a dramatic collapse with Freedom losing their final eight wickets for 49 runs with Glenn Maxwell out for five and Glenn Phillips for nought as batters four to nine were all dismissed for single figures.

They were bowled out for 146 in 13.1 overs with Pakistan's Haris Rauf the pick of the Unicorns bowlers claiming 3-30.

Unicorns are back in action against Los Angeles Knight Riders at 22:00 BST on Saturday, while Freedom follow against Seattle Orcas from 02:00 on Sunday.

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Major League Cricket returns in the early hours of Friday morning in the UK for its third edition.

The T20 tournament is the United States' franchise competition and was launched in 2023 as the sport attempts to grow in the country.

Six teams take part: Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom.

New York won the inaugural edition and Washington were champions in 2024.

There are 34 games in total - 30 in the group stage, where each side plays the other five twice between 13 June and 7 July. Group-stage matches take place at the Oakland Coliseum in California, Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas and Broward County Stadium in Florida.

The top-four teams progress to the knockouts, which work as follows:

Wednesday, 9 July: Qualifier 1 - first v second (02:00 BST)

Thursday, 10 July: Eliminator - third v fourth (02:00 BST)

Saturday, 12 July: Qualifier 2 - loser of Qualifier 1 v winner of Eliminator (02:00 BST)

Monday, 14 July: Final - winner of Qualifier 1 v winner of Qualifier 2 (02:00 BST)

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Nicholas Pooran and Heinrich Klaasen, who have both announced their retirements from international cricket in the past week, are among the stars set to play in the third edition of Major League Cricket (MLC).

Former West Indies batter Pooran will captain MI New York, while ex-South Africa wicketkeeper Klaasen will lead Seattle Orcas.

Australia's Glenn Maxwell will captain Washington Freedom, who will be coached by Ricky Ponting, while West Indies' all-rounder Jason Holder and ex-South Africa batter Faf du Plessis will lead Los Angeles Knight Riders and Texas Super Kings respectively.

T20 World Cup-winning opener Alex Hales (LA Knight Riders) and 2019 World Cup winner Liam Plunkett (San Francisco Unicorns) are the sole English representatives.

Australia's Steve Smith is set to play two matches for Washington Freedom, with New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips and Lockie Ferguson also part of their squad.

Other big names include Australia's David Warner (Seattle Orcas), South Africa's Quinton de Kock (MI Cape Town) and West Indies' Andre Russell (LA Knight Riders).

Afghanistan's Rashid Khan was set to play for MI Cape Town but ESPN Cricinfo, external say he is now set to miss the tournament.

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England duo Jacob Bethell and Ollie Pope have put themselves forward for retention in the Big Bash draft for after the 2025-26 Ashes series concludes.

All-rounder Bethell, 21, and top-order batter Pope, 27, are set to be available for the final four to six matches of the league phase and the finals.

They have entered the draft, which takes place on 19 June, and could be retained by Melbourne Renegades or Adelaide Strikers respectively or be signed by any of the other teams if the retention option is not taken up.

Both were playing in the tournament for the first time last year and Bethell scored 195 runs at an average of 24.37 and claimed four wickets. Pope made 191 runs at 21.22.

Amy Jones (Perth Scorchers), Alice Capsey (Melbourne Renegades) and Dani Gibson (Adelaide Strikers) have done the same in the women's draft, adding to Heather Knight, Sophie Ecclestone and Danni Wyatt-Hodge earlier in the week.

Each team can retain one player in the draft, in addition to one pre-draft overseas signing.

England's Jamie Overton (Strikers), Chris Jordan (Hurricanes), Tom Curran (Stars) and Sam Billings (Thunder) have been pre-signed in the men's competition, but no English players are signed for the women's competition so far.

Other players available for retention include Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, although he is set to have limited availability, and Pakistan's Usama Mir.

England's Sam Curran and Lauren Bell and Pakistan trio Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan are among the new names to be available.

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England all-rounder Sam Curran has entered the Big Bash draft as he looks to play in the tournament for the first time.

The 27-year-old has played franchise cricket in the Indian Premier League, SA20 and ILT20 but is yet to play in Australia's 20-over tournament.

Seamer Lauren Bell is in the women's draft having last played in the competition in 2023.

Heather Knight (Sydney Thunder), Sophie Ecclestone (Sydney Sixers) and Danni Wyatt-Hodge (Hobart Hurricanes) were also listed in the first round of nominations and will be able for retention.

West Indies' Deandra Dottin (Melbourne Renegades), South Africa's Shabnim Ismail (Thunder) and India's Jemimah Rodrigues (Adelaide Strikers) can also be retained.

Alex Hales was the other Englishman on the first take of the men's list and can be retained by Thunder alongside New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson, while Pakistan's Haris Rauf could stay at Melbourne Stars.

Rauf was joined on the list by compatriots Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan, with all three players available to every side.

The draft for the 2025-26 Big Bash tournaments takes place on 19 June.

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West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews has re-signed for the Melbourne Renegades for the 2025 edition of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL).

It will be Matthews' fourth year with the franchise who won the tournament for the first time in 2024.

Matthews scored 69 from 61 balls in last year's final against Brisbane Heat and also took 2-24 in their seven-run win.

Across the 10th edition of the WBBL, she scored 324 runs at a strike-rate of 130.6 and claimed 14 wickets.

Matthews was also retained by Welsh Fire in The Hundred and is a two-time winner of the Women's Premier League in India with Mumbai Indians.

The draft for the BBL and WBBL takes place on 19 June.

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England all-rounder Jamie Overton has been re-signed by Adelaide Strikers for the Big Bash.

Overton, 31, has been with Strikers for the past two seasons and won the MVP Dansie McCauley medal in 2025 as he claimed 11 wickets and scored 191 runs at an average of 95.40, with a top score of 45 not out.

Adelaide Strikers head coach Tim Paine said: "Securing Jamie as a pre-draft signing was a top priority for us.

"His last two seasons with the Strikers have been outstanding, not just with his individual performances with both bat and ball, but also with his competitive spirit and energy he brings to the group.

"Jamie has such a big impact over the game, he can change the course of a match in just a few overs."

The draft for sides to build their squads for next year's competition will take place on 19 June.

Agnideb Bandyopadhyay
Freelance cricket writer

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When the India Premier league was announced in 2007 the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) bet on the pace of the format and the untapped potential that the marriage of entertainment and cricket had in India.

A summer schedule and games being aired on entertainment networks around prime-time slots outside sports channels, pitched the league as a family-entertainer, altering viewership patterns for the sport in India.

Watching cricket was suddenly a daily activity across ages. With the IPL, cricket had a theatrical allure - packed in a three-hour package.

The league rode on the back of a digital transformation in India, which further amplified viewership and reach.

Affordable internet plans and arrival of streaming facilitated IPL's seamless journey into people's phones, making it easier for people to catch it on the move.

It has evolved into a unique product which sells success stories and narratives for posterity to a country where most kids, at some point, aspire to pursue cricket professionally.

The rags-to-riches stories drive the aspiration of pursuing cricket backed by the kind of money that the IPL can offer young cricketers hailing from lesser-privileged communities.

Experts believe that the IPL's primary merit has been facilitating a gradual transition from an obsession with foreign names to a population proud of its homegrown talents.

Joy Bhattacharya, cricket pundit and former team director of Kolkata Knight Riders, says: "The platform helps them [parents of young children] associate, dream, hope and get closer to the stars - in cricket and entertainment."

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With the success, the value of the tournament has soared from a $2 billion valuation in 2008 - its first season - to $12 billion in 2024.

Despite its comparatively short duration - 65 days in 2024 - compared to other major sporting leagues across the world, what makes the IPL such a consistently growing brand?

The 10 franchises, each representing a major Indian city or a state have ventured into other international T20 leagues stretching individual brand identities beyond India and increasing IPL's impact on the global cricketing ecosystem.

In a primarily sponsorship driven market, the IPL's duration promises a definite yet intense stretch for sponsors and strategic partnerships, which drive the major share of IPL's revenue.

Bhattacharya says the IPL is a "singular advertising phenomenon with the national focus completely concentrated on it".

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