CRICKET POLL

The 2024 season of USA's Major League Cricket will begin on July 5 with a clash between holders MI New York and last season's finalists Seattle Orcas at Morrisville, it was revealed on Tuesday (May 7). The competition's second season will again feature six teams, 25 games in all and run until July 28.

The opening day of the competition will feature a second game, at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas where the Texas Super Kings will face off against the LA Knight Riders. The entire tournament will be played over the two venues with Dallas hosting all the four playoffs games, including the final. Incidentally, the MLC playoffs will run concurrently with the start of The Hundred, which is scheduled to begin on July 23 at The Oval in London.

Unlike the inaugural season that saw each team play five group-stage games, the second season will see teams play two additional matches each before the top four teams progress to the playoffs.

"With some of world cricket's biggest current stars and seasoned veterans involved, including the likes of athletic Jamaican allrounder Andre Russell, New Zealand's left-arm quick, Trent Boult, 2023 MLC Finals MVP Nicholas Pooran, Afghanistan's superstar spinner, Rashid Khan, together with cricketing royalty in coaches Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Stephen Fleming, it demonstrates the depth of talent being attracted to the league," league CEO Vijay Srinivasan said.