2025 Major League Cricket season
| Dates | June 12 – July 13, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | American Cricket Enterprises USA Cricket |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Double round-robin and playoffs |
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 34 |
| Official website | Major League Cricket |
The 2025 Major League Cricket (also known as MLC 2025, or for sponsorship reasons as 2025 Cognizant Major League Cricket) is the third season of Major League Cricket, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league established in 2019 by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) in the United States.
The Washington Freedom are the defending champions.[1]
Background
In May 2024, MLC announced plans to expand its season from 19 games to 34 by its third season.[2][3] By January 2025, amidst concerns that the league's schedule would overlap with other T20 leagues like The Hundred, MLC announced that their season would run from mid-June to July, thereby avoiding conflict.[4] A full schedule would be released in March, following the season's annual domestic draft.[5]
The domestic draft, which was held in February 2025, saw a number of top players released by teams – key amongst them being Pat Cummins and Travis Head.[6]
Teams
All six teams from the previous season will take part this season.[7]
| Franchise | Captain | Head coach |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Knight Riders | Jason Holder[a] | Dwayne Bravo |
| MI New York | Nicholas Pooran | Robin Peterson |
| San Francisco Unicorns | Corey Anderson[b] | Shane Watson |
| Seattle Orcas | Sikandar Raza[c] | TBD[d] |
| Texas Super Kings | Faf du Plessis | Stephen Fleming |
| Washington Freedom | Glenn Maxwell[e] | Ricky Ponting |
Squads
Initially, ahead of the season opener, the appearance of Afghan players in the tournament was in doubt due to U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on twelve countries, including Afghanistan.[10] Trump's proclamation, however, allowed travel for players participating in a "major sporting event"; MLC was classified as such an event, thus Afghan players were allowed to participate.[11]
Venues
Matches are set to be held at three venues: Grand Prairie's Grand Prairie Stadium, Lauderhill's Broward County Stadium, and Oakland's Oakland Coliseum.[13][14]
| Oakland | Grand Prairie | Lauderhill |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Coliseum | Grand Prairie Stadium | Broward County Stadium |
| Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 7,200 | Capacity: 20,000 |
| Matches: 9 | Matches: 16 | Matches: 9 |
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington Freedom | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0.954 | Advanced to Qualifier |
| 2 | Texas Super Kings | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1.603 | |
| 3 | San Francisco Unicorns | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1.330 | Advanced to Eliminator |
| 4 | MI New York | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | −0.518 | |
| 5 | Seattle Orcas | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | −1.842 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Los Angeles Knight Riders | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −1.320 |
Source: ESPNCricinfo
Match summary
| Win | Loss | No result |
- Note: The total points at the end of each group match are listed.
- Note: Click on the points (group matches) or W/L (playoffs) to see the match summary.
| Visitor team → | LAKR | MINY | SFU | SO | TSK | WF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home team ↓ | ||||||
| Los Angeles Knight Riders | New York 8 wickets | Los Angeles 11 runs | Seattle 5 wickets | Texas 57 runs | Washington 5 wickets | |
| MI New York | New York 6 runs | San Francisco 47 runs | New York 7 wickets | Texas 3 runs | Washington 2 wickets | |
| San Francisco Unicorns | San Francisco 32 runs | San Francisco 3 wickets | Seattle 4 wickets | San Francisco 1 run | San Francisco 123 runs | |
| Seattle Orcas | Los Angeles 6 wickets | Seattle 3 wickets | San Francisco 32 runs | Texas 51 runs | Washington 5 wickets | |
| Texas Super Kings | Texas 52 runs | Texas 39 runs | San Francisco 7 wickets | Texas 93 runs | Texas 43 runs | |
| Washington Freedom | Washington 113 runs | Washington 6 wickets | Washington 12 runs | Washington 8 wickets | Washington 7 wickets |
| Home team won | Visitor team won |
- Note: Results listed are according to the home (horizontal) and visitor (vertical) teams.
- Note: Click on a result to see a summary of the match.
League stage
San Francisco Unicorns
269/5 (20 overs) |
v
|
Washington Freedom
146 (13.1 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
- Finn Allen (San Francisco Unicorns) scored the fastest century (off 34 balls) in Major League Cricket and also the second-fastest in any franchise T20 league, behind Chris Gayle's 30-ball century against Pune Warriors India in IPL 2013.[16]
- Finn Allen scored the highest number of sixes (19) in innings breaking the record of Chris Gayle (18) in T20s.[17]
- Finn Allen scored the fastest 150 (off 49 balls) in T20s, breaking the record of Dewald Brevis 150 (off 52 balls) against Knights.[18]
Texas Super Kings
185/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
MI New York
182/8 (20 overs) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
- Adam Milne (Texas Super Kings) played his 200th T20 match.
San Francisco Unicorns
219/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
Los Angeles Knight Riders
187 (19.5 overs) |
- Los Angeles Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
- Matthew Tromp (Los Angeles Knight Riders) made his T20 debut.
Seattle Orcas
145/9 (20 overs) |
v
|
Washington Freedom
149/5 (13.3 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to bat.
Texas Super Kings
181/4 (20 overs) |
v
|
Los Angeles Knight Riders
124 (17.1 overs) |
- Los Angeles Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
MI New York
182/7 (20 overs) |
v
|
San Francisco Unicorns
188/7 (19.1 overs) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field.
- Nicholas Pooran (MI New York) played his 400th match in T20s.
Texas Super Kings
153/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Seattle Orcas
60 (13.5 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
Washington Freedom
208/5 (20 overs) |
v
|
Los Angeles Knight Riders
95 (16.3 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to bat.
Seattle Orcas
200/5 (20 overs) |
v
|
MI New York
203/3 (19 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to bat.
Texas Super Kings
198/5 (20 overs) |
v
|
San Francisco Unicorns
202/3 (16.1 overs) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field.
MI New York
188/4 (20 overs) |
v
|
Washington Freedom
189/8 (19.2 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
Seattle Orcas
177/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Los Angeles Knight Riders
178/4 (18.2 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to bat.
Texas Super Kings
220/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Washington Freedom
223/3 (19.4 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
- Andries Gous (Washington Freedom) played his 100th T20 match.
San Francisco Unicorns
246/4 (20 overs) |
v
|
MI New York
199/6 (20 overs) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
- Kieron Pollard (MI New York) played his 700th match in T20s.[19]
Texas Super Kings
196/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
Los Angeles Knight Riders
144/7 (20 overs) |
- Los Angeles Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
San Francisco Unicorns
176/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
Seattle Orcas
144 (18.2 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
Los Angeles Knight Riders
213/4 (20 overs) |
v
|
Washington Freedom
214/5 (20 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
- Andre Fletcher and Sherfane Rutherford (Los Angeles Knight Riders) both scored their 8,000th and 3,000th run respectively in T20s.
MI New York
237/4 (20 overs) |
v
|
Seattle Orcas
238/7 (20 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
Washington Freedom
169/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
San Francisco Unicorns
157/9 (20 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to bat.
- Mitchell Owen (Washington Freedom) took his first five-wicket haul in T20s.[20]
Los Angeles Knight Riders
202/4 (20 overs) |
v
|
Seattle Orcas
206/5 (19.5 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
Texas Super Kings
223/4 (20 overs) |
v
|
MI New York
184/8 (20 overs) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
San Francisco Unicorns
168/5 (20 overs) |
v
|
Seattle Orcas
169/6 (19.3 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
Texas Super Kings
87/2 (5 overs) |
v
|
Washington Freedom
44/4 (5 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
- The match was reduced to 5 overs per side due to rain.
Los Angeles Knight Riders
154/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
MI New York
155/2 (17.5 overs) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
San Francisco Unicorns
148/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Texas Super Kings
147/7 (20 overs) |
- Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
- Akeal Hosein (Texas Super Kings) took his 200th wicket in T20s.
Seattle Orcas
82 (17.4 overs) |
v
|
Washington Freedom
86/2 (9.2 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won toss and elected to field.
MI New York
142/9 (20 overs) |
v
|
Los Angeles Knight Riders
135/4 (20 overs) |
- Los Angeles Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
Texas Super Kings
188/4 (20 overs) |
v
|
Seattle Orcas
137 (18.4 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
MI New York
112/8 (18 overs) |
v
|
Washington Freedom
113/4 (15 overs) |
Kunwarjeet Singh 33 (30)
Glenn Maxwell 3/29 (4 overs) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to bat.
- The match was reduced to 18 overs per side due to rain.
Los Angeles Knight Riders
243/3 (19 overs) |
v
|
San Francisco Unicorns
233 (18.5 overs) |
Sanjay Krishnamurthi 92 (40)
Karthik Gattepalli 3/31 (4 overs) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field.
- The match was reduced to 19 overs per side due to rain.
- Adithya Ganesh and Karthik Gattepalli (Los Angeles Knight Riders) both made their T20 debuts.
- San Francisco Unicorns were set a revised target of 245 runs off 19 overs due to rain.
Play-offs
| Qualifier | Challenger | Final | |||||||||||
| July 8, 2025 – Grand Prairie | July 13, 2025 – Grand Prairie | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Washington Freedom | QW | Winner of Qualifier | ||||||||||
| 2 | Texas Super Kings | July 11, 2025 – Grand Prairie | CW | Winner of Challenger | |||||||||
| QL | Loser of Qualifier | ||||||||||||
| Eliminator | EW | Winner of Eliminator | |||||||||||
| July 9, 2025 – Grand Prairie | |||||||||||||
| 3 | San Francisco Unicorns | ||||||||||||
| 4 | MI New York | ||||||||||||
Qualifier[21]
[22]Eliminator
Challenger
Final
Records, milestones, and notable statistics
Batting
- In the opening match of the 2025 season, Finn Allen (SFU) sets MLC records for fastest half-century (20 balls), fastest century (34 balls), and highest individual score (151 runs), as well as the world T20 record for sixes with 19, breaking the previous record of 18 set by Chris Gayle during the 2017 Bangladesh Premier League season.[23]
- Andre Fletcher and Unmukt Chand (LAKR) combine for 130 runs against the Washington Freedom, the highest for any partnership in franchise history.[24]
- Donovan Ferreira (TSK) scores 53 runs off 20 balls against MI New York, equaling the MLC-record for fastest half-century.[25]
- Mitchell Owen (WF) is awarded four consecutive Player of the Match awards, one short of the world record set by Shakib Al Hasan in the 2022 Bangladesh Premier League.[26]
Teams
- The San Francisco Unicorns score an MLC-record 269/5 against the Washington Freedom. The innings featured 28 sixes, the second-highest number ever in a T20 match.[27]
- The Washington Freedom chase down 221 against the Texas Super Kings, the highest target chased in MLC history.[28]
- The Los Angeles Knight Riders score a franchise record 213/4 against the Washington Freedom, the first time the team crossed the 200-run mark.[29]
- The Seattle Orcas successfully chase 237 against MI New York, breaking the MLC record for highest target chased set earlier in the year by Washington.[30]
Broadcasting
| Country/Sub-region | Rights holder(s) |
|---|---|
| Australia | Seven |
| Caribbean | ESPN |
| India | Star Sports, JioHotstar |
| Middle East | Cricbuzz |
| North Africa | Cricbuzz |
| New Zealand | Sky NZ |
| Pakistan | A Sports |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | ESPN |
| North America | Willow |
| Northern California | NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports California (SFU matches only)[22] |
Notes
- ^ Sunil Narine will stand in as acting for two games
- ^ Replaced by Matthew Short midseason due to injury
- ^ Heinrich Klaasen stepped down as captain mid season[9]
- ^ Matthew Mott parted ways as coach mid season[9]
- ^ Steve Smith will captain the side in the two games he plays
References
- ^ McGlashan, Andrew (29 July 2024). "Smith, Maxwell star in Washington Freedom's emphatic title win". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ "U.S. MLC secures List A status, plans expansion to 10 teams". Reuters. 28 May 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Islam, Arif (28 May 2024). "Major League Cricket plans to expand to ten teams". SportsPro. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Roller, Matt (23 January 2025). "Hundred and MLC avoid fixtures clash for 2025". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "Oakland Coliseum to host nine MLC matches in 2025". BBC News. 26 March 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Lavalette, Tristan (22 February 2025). "Several Stars Will Skip America's Major League Cricket As Pivotal Season Looms". Forbes. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Behle, Brandon; Parker, Pamela (26 March 2025). "Everything Bay Area baseball fans need to know about cricket before MLC games at Oakland Coliseum". KABC-TV. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Sagar Singh @thesagar75. "MLC 2025: Pooran and Maxwell to lead MI New York and Washington Freedom respectively". Retrieved 11 June 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Orcas part ways with head coach Matthew Mott mid-season; Klaasen steps down". Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ Roller, Matt (5 June 2025). "MLC hopeful of Afghanistan players' participation after Trump's travel ban". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
- ^ Gayler, Maya (11 June 2025). "Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai to Miss MLC 2025". Athlon Sports. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
- ^ "MI New York's Rashid Khan And Azmatullah Omarzai To Miss MLC 2025 | Major League Cricket, 2025". www.cricket.com. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ Lockard, Melissa (26 March 2025). "Major League Cricket coming to the Oakland Coliseum for historic June tournament". The Athletic. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Roller, Matt (26 March 2025). "Oakland's Coliseum set to host nine games in MLC 2025". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ Dahlstrom-Eckman, Azul (13 June 2025). "Oakland Coliseum, In Its Second Life, Hosts Major League Cricket's West Coast Debut". KQED. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ^ "MLC 2025: Finn Allen smashes fastest century in league history against Washington Freedom". Times of India. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ "19 sixes, 150 in 49 balls! New Zealand's Finn Allen breaks Chris Gayle's sixes world record in MLC 2025 opener". The Indian Express. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ "Finn Allen Creates History With 51-Ball 151 In MLC, Becomes First In World To..." News 18. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ @MINYCricket (23 June 2025). "Cheers for your 𝟕𝟎𝟎𝐭𝐡 T20 game Polly!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Owen five-for sends Unicorns to their first defeat of MLC 2025". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ a b MLCricket. "Cancel your summer plans. We're watching cricket. 📺". x.com.
- ^ a b "NBC Sports Bay Area & California to Present San Francisco Unicorns Matches Live in Partnership with Willow by Cricbuzz - San Francisco Unicorns". www.sfunicorns.com. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ^ https://www.majorleaguecricket.com/news/196
- ^ https://www.majorleaguecricket.com/news/214
- ^ https://www.majorleaguecricket.com/news/220
- ^ https://www.majorleaguecricket.com/news/221
- ^ https://www.majorleaguecricket.com/news/196
- ^ https://www.majorleaguecricket.com/news/209
- ^ https://www.majorleaguecricket.com/news/214
- ^ https://www.majorleaguecricket.com/news/217