Schedule for Major Cricket League 2023 announced

CALIFORNIA: Major League Cricket (MLC) announced the schedule for America's first-ever professional franchise cricket league, set to start from Thursday, July 13, 2023.

As per a press release from MLC on Tuesday, two cricket-specific venues in North Texas (Grand Prairie Stadium, 1600 Lone Star Pkwy, Grand Prairie, TX) and Greater Raleigh (Church Street Park, 5800 Cricket Pitch Wy, Morrisville, NC) will host 19 matches. Many of the world's top cricketers will represent six MLC teams competing to be crowned as the inaugural season champion on Sunday, July 30.

The first-ever MLC match will start at 7:30 p.m. CST on Thursday, July 13, under the lights at America's new premier cricket venue, the 7,200-capacity Grand Prairie Stadium, near Dallas, TX.

The home state Texas Super Kings will face off against the Los Angeles Knight Riders, with both teams set to bring superstar players who have featured for the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The following day on Friday, July 14, there will be a doubleheader of action, starting at 3:30 p.m. with MI New York facing the San Francisco Unicorns. The Unicorns have signed former Australia one-day international captain Aaron Finch, fellow Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, South Africa's Lungi Ngidi, England's World Cup-winning fast bowler Liam Plunkett and New Zealand star Corey Anderson.

The Friday evening matchup features the Seattle Orcas and the Washington Freedom. The Pacific Northwest team have announced the signings of South African internationals Quinton de Kock and Wayne Parnell, Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza and Sri Lankan Dasun Shanaka. The Freedom's announced stars include South Africans Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen alongside Sri Lankan spin bowler Wanindu Hasaranga and New Zealand's Glenn Phillips and Adam Milne, along with Australians Josh Philippe and Moises Henriques.

The Saturday evening matchup sees the Unicorns take on the Orcas, while Sunday's doubleheader features the home state Texas Super Kings against the Freedom in the afternoon and an evening match between the LA Knight Riders and MI New York. Monday (Super Kings vs. MI New York) and Tuesday (Unicorns vs. Knight Riders) evening matches will follow to complete the first set of games in Grand Prairie.

MLC then moves to North Carolina for its second week of competition at Church Street Park in Morrisville. On Thursday, July 20, a 5:30 p.m. EST start will see the Freedom against the Knight Riders at the scenic venue currently undergoing upgrades to expand and enhance the facility. A further six matches will follow from Friday through Tuesday to determine which four teams advance to finals weekend, with two teams set to be eliminated.

The first-ever MLC Championship Finals will bring a set of thrilling playoff encounters to Grand Prairie Stadium. The "Eliminator" match will see the third and fourth seeds face off on Thursday, July 27 starting at 3:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to the "Challenger" match and the loser eliminated.

In the evening, the top two seeds will compete with the winner of this "Qualifier" match advancing directly to the championship final. Friday evening on July 28 sees the "Challenger" match take place, with the winner of the "Eliminator" game taking on the loser of the "Qualifier" match to determine who will move on to the championship final on Sunday, July 30. The final match, crowning the inaugural Major League Cricket champion, is set to start at 7:30 p.m. CST at Grand Prairie Stadium. (ANI)