2025 Washington Freedom season
| 2025 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coach | Ricky Ponting | ||
| Captain | Glenn Maxwell | ||
| Overseas player | |||
| |||
The 2025 Washington Freedom season was the third season of the franchise in Major League Cricket (MLC).[1] The team, which was without last year's captain Steven Smith due to injury,[2] was captained by fellow Australian teammate Glenn Maxwell and coached by Ricky Ponting.[3]
As defending champions,[4] the Freedom began their season with a crushing 123-run loss to San Francisco – courtesy of Finn Allen's mammoth 151.[5] They quickly recovered, going 4-0 with a 5-wicket win over Seattle,[6] a heavy 113-run Maxwell-powered victory over Los Angeles,[7] a thrilling last-over 2-wicket game against New York,[8] and a high-scoring 7-wicket chase against Texas.[9] The Freedom closed off their Dallas leg of the tournament strong by again defeating Los Angeles via a last-ball single and delivering San Francisco a 12-run defeat, their first of the season.[10] Ensured of a playoff berth, Washington headed into Lauderhill with a 6-1 record, tied with San Francisco on points but lower on net run rate.[11]
At Lauderhill, in a rain-affected game, the Freedom began poorly with a hefty 43-run defeat to Texas.[12][13] However, in a play for a top-two finish, the Freedom steamrolled Seattle by 8 wickets and eased past New York by 6 wickets.[14][15] Shooting up to a first-place group stage finish, the Freedom became strong favorites to reach the finals.[16]
Background
On January 10, 2025, ahead of the domestic platers' draft, MLC announced that the tournament's third season would begin play on June 13 in Oakland, and end with the final on July 13. In February, the Freedom released a list of retained overseas players', containing the likes of Maxwell, Smith, and Rachin Ravindra. They further retained domestic bulwarks Andries Gous, Saurabh Netravalkar, and Ian Holland, amongst others.
Prior to the season opener, the team signed a slew of overseas players–the likes of Mitchell Owen, Mark Chapman, and Glenn Phillips.
Current squad
- Players with international caps are listed in bold.
| Name | Nat. | Date of Birth | Batting Style | Bowling Style | Year signed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||||
| Steve Smith | Australia | June 2, 1989 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg spin | 2024 | Direct signing |
| Travis Head | Australia | December 29, 1993 | Left-handed | Right-arm-off spin | 2024 | Direct signing |
| Jack Edwards | Australia | April 19, 2000 | Right-handed | — | 2024 | Direct signing |
| Mukhtar Ahmed | Pakistan | December 20, 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break googly | 2023 | |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| Mitchell Owen | Australia | 11 September 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2025 | |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | October 14, 1988 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2024 | Direct signing |
| Rachin Ravindra | New Zealand | November 18, 1999 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | 2024 | Direct signing |
| Glenn Phillips | New Zealand | December 6, 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2025 | Direct signing |
| Obus Pienaar | United States | December 12, 1989 | Right-handed | Left-arm off spin | 2023 | |
| Justin Dill | United States | November 10, 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2023 | |
| Ian Holland | United States | October 3, 1990 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2024 | |
| Wicket-keeper | ||||||
| Andries Gous | United States | November 24, 1993 | Right-handed | 2023 | ||
| Lahiru Milantha | Sri Lanka | May 28, 1994 | Left-handed | 2024 | ||
| Bowlers | ||||||
| Saurabh Netravalkar | United States | October 16, 1991 | Right-handed | Left-arm medium fast | 2023 | |
| Jason Behrendorff | Australia | 20 April 1990 | Right-handed | Left-arm fast | 2025 | Direct signing |
| Lockie Ferguson | New Zealand | June 13, 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2024 | Direct signing |
| Akhilesh Bodugum | United States | April 28, 2000 | Right-handed | Right-arm off spin | 2023 | U23 player |
| Amila Aponso | United States | June 23, 1993 | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | 2024 | |
| Yasir Mohammad | United States | October 10, 2002 | Left-handed | Legbreak Googly | 2024 | |
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.[18]
- Finn Allen scored the highest number of sixes (19) in innings breaking the record of Chris Gayle (18) in T20s.[19]
- Finn Allen scored the fastest 150 (off 49 balls) in T20s, breaking the record of Dewald Brevis 150 (off 52 balls) against Knights.[20]
Seattle Orcas
145/9 (20 overs) |
v
|
Washington Freedom
149/5 (13.3 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to bat.
Washington Freedom
208/5 (20 overs) |
v
|
Los Angeles Knight Riders
95 (16.3 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to bat.
MI New York
188/4 (20 overs) |
v
|
Washington Freedom
189/8 (19.2 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
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.
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.
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.[21]
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.
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
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.
Standing
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
| Team | Group matches | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Q/E | C | F | |
| Washington Freedom | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | |||
| Win | Loss | Tie | No Result |
Win–loss table
| Team | League stage | Play-offs | Pos. | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Q | E | C | F | ||
| Washington Freedom |
San Francisco 123 runs |
Seattle 8 wickets |
Los Angeles 113 runs |
New York 2 wickets |
Texas 8 wickets |
Los Angeles 5 wickets |
San Francisco 12 runs |
Texas 43 runs |
Seattle 8 wickets |
New York 6 wickets | |||||
Administration and support staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Ricky Ponting |
| General Manager | Michael Klinger |
| Bowling coach | Dale Steyn |
| Assistant coach | Samit Patel |
| Team manager | Andrew Lynch |
| Strength and conditioning | Umar Gul |
| High performance analyst | Zamir Khan |
| Physiotherapist | Noor Ali Zadran |
References
- ^ Roller, Matt (23 January 2025). "Hundred and MLC avoid fixtures clash for 2025". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ McGlashan, Andrew (14 June 2025). "Smith avoids surgery, faces race to be fit for West Indies Tests". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ Omoro, Ian (12 June 2025). "MLC 2025: Maxwell Replaces Smith as Washington Freedom Captain". Athlon Sports. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ McGlashan, Andrew (29 July 2024). "Smith, Maxwell star in Washington Freedom's emphatic title win". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ Abbas, Haider (13 June 2025). "Finn Allen Lights Up the MLC 2025 with a Record-Breaking Century in the Opening Match". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ Patel, Smit (14 June 2025). "Holland 4-fer downs Orcas". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ "Maxwell's century for Freedom consigns LAKR to heavy defeat". ESPNcricinfo. 18 June 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ "Freedom beat MI for third successive win in MLC". BBC. 22 June 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ Shah, Faisal (23 June 2025). "Record-Breaking Chase: Washington Freedom Stun Texas Super Kings in MLC 2025 Thriller". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ Das, Aishik (27 June 2025). "Final ball blunder costs Andre Russell's LA Knight Riders in MLC thriller vs Washington Freedom". The Sporting News. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ Patel, Smit (28 June 2025). "Mitchell Owen fifer powers Washington Freedom to playoffs". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ Burnett, Ian (4 July 2025). "Ranjane and Ferreira's firestorm propels Texas Super Kings to 2nd in MLC sprint". Caribbean National Weekly. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
- ^ Mahbub, Rashad (4 July 2025). "Ranjane, Ferreira hit quick 30s to lift Texas Super Kings to No. 2". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
- ^ "MLC 2025: Washington Freedom bolster top two chances by snapping Seattle Orcas' three-match winning run". The Times of India. 5 July 2025. Archived from the original on 5 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
- ^ Patel, Smit (5 July 2025). "Maxwell spins Washington Freedom to top-two finish". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
- ^ Patel, Smit (8 July 2025). "Surging Washington Freedom set sights on another final". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 8 July 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.
- ^ "Owen five-for sends Unicorns to their first defeat of MLC 2025". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 June 2025.