MLC 2024 is here, and Defending Champs MI New York are ready! All your FAQs answered
By MI New York Media
It’s bigger, it’s better, and it’s back. The three-week long cricket festival returns to America after breaking plenty of new ground in 2023. Oh, and it’s been some revolution this! From introducing the game to ordinary Americans to becoming a raging success, Major League Cricket is all set to push the boundaries further in 2024. IT’S ONE DAY AWAY. Okay, you’ve got questions? We hear you? Here’s your cheat sheet to everything you need to know..
Another cricket party? No wait, didn’t the World Cup just get over?
The World Cup was just the start, the MLC will now take it to the crescendo! The second season is here – six iconic cities, two venues, 23 days, and MI New York out there to defend their crown. A host of world class cricketers have assembled in town, and are all set to inspire another whole generation of young American fans.
So who’s playing? What’s the format?
There’s the defending champions, MI New York, the runner’s up, Seattle Orcas, Faf du Plessis-led Texas Super Kings, fresh from winning the IPL, Sunil Narine-led LA Knight Riders, fresh from inducting Pat Cummins, San Francisco Unicorns, and the Washington Freedom.
Each team would play seven league games, and the top four will then proceed to the playoffs. The first leg of the tournament would take place at Church Street Park in Morrisville, before he caravan moved to the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
Could you recap season one please?
So we won. It was a tight road until the final though, with MI New York having to win their last four games to win the title. And they did it in style, with Trent Boult getting four-fer after four-fer, young Dewald Brevis playing some clutch knocks in the middle-order, Tim David finishing games for fun like only he can, and Monank Patel getting us off to fliers. Come the final, against Seattle Orcas, it was the Nicholas Pooran show, with a blazing 137-run-knock to give us our moment of history!
Woah, Defending Champs! What’s new this time then?
Anrich Nortje, with his 150kph thunderbolts, is all set to don the Blue and Gold, and it is going to be a dream to watch him bowl in tandem with Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada. Also Romario Shepherd, fresh from his assault in the IPL for Mumbai Indians and then in the T20 World Cup for West Indies, is here too. Four other youngsters, Rushil Ugarkar, Heath Richards, Ruben Clinton and Sunny Patel have come into the mix as well. But the core of the team remains the same, with Kieron Pollard, the MI #OneFamily legend, along with Nicholas Pooran, Trent Boult, Rashid Khan, Tim David and the USA star players like Steven Taylor, Monank Patel and Shayan Jahangir.
And what’s new with the MLC in 2024?
A few extra matches. Last year saw each team play a single round-robin, but this time there are two extra games in the league. It’s just gotten bigger. But should remain the same though is the passion the league generated among the supporters, who thronged to the stadium in large numbers.
Okay, I’m already excited..what’s the schedule?
July 5, 3:30pm EDT (July 6, 1am IST) - MI New York vs Seattle Orcas
July 6, 3pm EDT (July 7, 12:30am IST) - Washington Freedom vs MI New York
July 12, 3pm EDT (July 13, 12:30am IST) - MI New York vs Texas Super Kings
July 14, 7:30pm CDT (July 15, 6am IST) - Texas Super Kings vs MI New York
July 16, 7:30pm CDT (July 17, 6am IST) - MI New York vs Washington Freedom
July 18, 7:30pm CDT (July 19, 6am IST) - MI New York vs San Francisco Unicorns
July 21, 7:30pm CDT (July 22, 6am IST) - LA Knight Riders vs MI New York
LATEST
“It’s a tough pill to swallow”
It’s never easy knowing 266 wasn’t enough on the day. A record 29 sixes were hit by MI New York – the most ever in a T20 innings. On nights like these when lightning strikes twice, you don’t fight the powers. You just accept it wasn’t out night.“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” said Mark Boucher at the post-match press conference. “I think this ground is very small. In the beginning stages of the tournament, the wickets weren’t as good as they are now. It made bowling extremely tough. The dew factor at the backend of the game made bowling extremely tough for the bowlers and the fielders. But in saying that, we had our chances. If we had taken those chances, we could have built a bit of pressure. We knew when we scored our total, on a pitch that is good and small boundaries, if there was one team that could chase this down, it was these guys.”MI New York’s MLC 2026 campaign might have come to an end, but it was eventful and certainly memorable. We gained momentum and peaked at the right time, with all parts of the puzzle seemingly falling in place. “The one area where we’ve struggled throughout the tournament has been our batting. We haven’t got any flow in our batting in the tournament. Coming into the game today, even though we lost the last game, I thought there was something going there. Nicky’s (Pooran) knock was fantastic. Quinny (de Kock) got us off to a good start as well. Polly coming in. We put on a really good score and our batters did really well. In the middle stages of the tournament, our bowlers really kept us in the tournament,” he said. Whether it was Kieron Pollard pulling out matches from the dead, something he’s done for the Blue and Gold for over 17 years now, or whether it was Tajinder Dhillon’s cameos, or Rushil Ugarkar’s large-hearted bowling, Quinton de Kock’s typically Quinny-like starts, or a record-breaking final flourish, there certainly has been enough for us to celebrate. Let’s give it some time. When the disappointment withers, what will remain is pride, the pride we have in this side. This is MI city, this is MI team, we are MI New York. 17 Jul, 2026Celebrating a 106(33), that is enough on most days…
…Sadly, this wasn’t one of those. But when the dust settles and the disappointment of seeing a massive total being overhauled dies down, we’ll the pride in this MONSTER NICHOLAS POORAN knock. He loves these knockout games in the MLC, doesn’t he! Against the Washington Freedom in the Eliminator, he wasted no time settling in. The first ball was a single. Ball 2: SIXBall 3: SIXBall 4: SIXBall 5: FOURThis was followed by another 6, 4, 0, 6, 6, 6 to bring up his fifty off just 14 balls. None of them were mishits in any sense. Reading the bowling to perfection, he was happy to step out and go over long-off, pull away the short stuff, tonk them down the ground, cut them through point. Just peak, beast mode. He wasn’t backing down. Against Nikhil Chaudhary’s off-spin, he kept the fifth gear going. 6, 4, 1, 0, 4, 6, 4, 6 across two overs, and he had the fastest MLC century, off just 31 balls. He fell immediately after. All this inside the 12th over. Sheer madness was on display. Again, it might get forgotten given what happened in the second innings and how Washington chased down a mammoth total, but it was a knock for the ages nevertheless. Nicky P has added another feather that sits alongside his iconic 137* from 2023!16 Jul, 2026The Eliminator report: Crazy game, but ends in heartbreak :(
266 runs chased down. 51 sixes hit in the game. It’s probably a once in a lifetime moment, and the partnership of 241 runs in just 89 balls between Steven Smith and Andries Gous was again one of those, seen now, might never be seen again moments. Alas, it came against us in the Eliminator. A crazy game, but on the wrong side of the result.. Nicholas Pooran: 106 (33)“It wasn’t meant to be,” our skipper said at the post-match presentation. But his knock deserves all the appreciation. Five fours, 13 sixes, and a century off just 31 balls. It was peak Nicky P. Beast Nicky P. He was just unstoppable, smashing everything around for fun. Imagine a 24-ball 51 by Quinton de Kock felt like second fiddle! And then Polly goes wild!Pooran came, smashed, and was done by the 12th over. Kieron Pollard took it upon himself to carry the baton forward. With a 25-ball 64, he kept the shots coming, the sixes flowing, and ensured MINY finished strong. The final 266/9 came via Trent Boult and his 10-ball 22. That Smith-Gous stand On most days, a target of 267 is daunting enough. But lightning struck twice, first in the form of Pooran’s brilliant century, and then with Gous’ 51-ball 132 and Smith’s 48-ball 110. They rode their luck, but it just felt written in the stars. Ruing the missed chances 9.4: Smith gets a life 10.1: Smith gets put down again 10.6: Now Gous is dropped11.5: Both the bowler and the keeper miss a run-out chance In 13 balls, with four chances gone down, the signs were clear. It simply wasn’t our day. The batters then switched gears and went on a rampage, with 29 runs coming off the 13th over, 21 off the 14th and 31 off the 15th, virtually killing the game. This is where it ends. 2026 wasn’t to be. It’s a tough one to swallow. But once the dust settles, we’ll look back at how heartwarming this season has been with new heroes stepping up, older ones turning back the clock, and wins pulled off from nowhere. 15 Jul, 2026
