Steven Smith led Washington Freedom to a commanding 96-run victory over the San Francisco Unicorns, securing their inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) crown. The Australian batting legend played a critical role in the Freedom’s victory, contributing considerably with the bat while also showcasing his leadership abilities.
Smith’s 88-run knock, including six maximums, proved to be the foundation of Freedom’s innings. Despite a poor start, he powered through the middle overs, creating an important alliance with Glenn Maxwell. Their 83-run stand helped Freedom reach a formidable total of 217.
Marco Jansen disrupted the Unicorns’ chase early, dismissing both openers on the powerplay. With a tough mark to chase, the Unicorns’ batting order faltered under pressure, while Freedom’s bowlers kept control of the game.
The victory marks a successful culmination of a dominant campaign for Washington Freedom, who remained undefeated throughout the tournament. The title win is a significant achievement for Ricky Ponting, who led the team as coach.
Smith’s stellar performance in the Smith’s stellar performance in the comes amidst speculation about his future in T20I cricket. Overlooked for Australia’s T20 World Cup squad and subsequently omitted from the team for the upcoming series against Scotland and England, Smith’s focus appears to be shifting towards franchise cricket.
The Major League Cricket season has been a resounding success, showcasing the growing popularity of the format in the United States. With the league set to expand in the coming years, the competition promises to be even more intense in the future.
Major League Cricket Final:
Washington Freedom (20 ovs maximum)
| BATTING | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Head | c Allen b Cummins | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 150.00 | |||
| Steven Smith (c) | c †Inglis b Cummins | 88 | 52 | 7 | 6 | 169.23 | |||
| Andries Gous † | c Allen b Hassan Khan | 21 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 150.00 | |||
| Rachin Ravindra | b Haris Rauf | 11 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 122.22 | |||
| Glenn Maxwell | c †Inglis b Drysdale | 40 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 181.81 | |||
| Mukhtar Ahmed | not out | 19 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 211.11 | |||
| Obus Pienaar | not out | 13 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 144.44 | |||
| Extras | (b 1, lb 1, nb 1, w 3) | 6 | |||||||
| TOTAL | 20 Ov (RR: 10.35) | 207/5 | |||||||
| Did not bat: Marco Jansen, Andrew Tye, Ian Holland, Saurabh Netravalkar | |||||||||
| Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Travis Head, 1.2 ov), 2-49 (Andries Gous, 5.5 ov), 3-86 (Rachin Ravindra, 10.1 ov), 4-169 (Steven Smith, 16.3 ov), 5-177 (Glenn Maxwell, 17.2 ov) • DRS | |||||||||
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | 4s | 6s | WD | NB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carmi le Roux | 4 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 10.00 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Cummins | 4 | 0 | 35 | 2 | 8.75 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Hassan Khan | 4 | 0 | 42 | 1 | 10.50 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Haris Rauf | 4 | 0 | 41 | 1 | 10.25 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Juanoy Drysdale | 4 | 0 | 47 | 1 | 11.75 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
San Francisco Unicorns (T: 208 runs from 20 ovs)
| BATTING | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finn Allen | b Jansen | 13 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 | |||
| Jake Fraser-McGurk | b Jansen | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 | |||
| Sanjay Krishnamurthi | c Head b Netravalkar | 13 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 144.44 | |||
| Josh Inglis † | b Tye | 18 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 163.63 | |||
| Sherfane Rutherford | c Holland b Maxwell | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 44.44 | |||
| Hassan Khan | c Ravindra b Jansen | 13 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 216.66 | |||
| Corey Anderson (c) | c Holland b Tye | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |||
| Pat Cummins | lbw b Ravindra | 13 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 185.71 | |||
| Haris Rauf | st †Gous b Ravindra | 7 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 87.50 | |||
| Carmi le Roux | not out | 20 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 105.26 | |||
| Juanoy Drysdale | b Ravindra | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 | |||
| Extras | (lb 1, w 1) | 2 | |||||||
| TOTAL | 16 Ov (RR: 6.93) | 111 | |||||||
| Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Jake Fraser-McGurk, 2.1 ov), 2-30 (Sanjay Krishnamurthi, 3.5 ov), 3-30 (Finn Allen, 4.5 ov), 4-51 (Sherfane Rutherford, 7.4 ov), 5-53 (Josh Inglis, 8.1 ov), 6-53 (Corey Anderson, 8.3 ov), 7-68 (Pat Cummins, 9.5 ov), 8-78 (Hassan Khan, 10.4 ov), 9-92 (Haris Rauf, 13.5 ov), 10-111 (Juanoy Drysdale, 15.6 ov) • DRS | |||||||||
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | 4s | 6s | WD | NB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marco Jansen | 4 | 1 | 28 | 3 | 7.00 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Saurabh Netravalkar | 4 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 8.25 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 2 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 7.00 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew Tye | 2 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rachin Ravindra | 4 | 0 | 23 | 3 | 5.75 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Follow 12cricket.com for the latest news and updates.
