The start of the historic Major League Cricket (MLC) debut season is less than four months away, but fans won’t have to wait long to find out who will be taking to the pitch this summer.
On Sunday, the six franchises for the inaugural season will start to fill out their rosters during the Major League Cricket Domestic Player Draft at the Space Center Houston, the official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
View this post on Instagram
Teams representing Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Texas and Washington, D.C. will pick nine domestic players with additional overseas player signings to be announced in the coming days.
It’s all leading up to a 19-day season in July, which will showcase action-packed Twenty20 professional cricket games in front of an American audience for the first time featuring domestic teams and players.
Cricket is the second biggest sport in the world, and the United States is up next to bat.
Here’s what you need to know for the 2023 Major League Cricket Draft:
When and where is the Major League Cricket Draft?
Major League Cricket is aiming for the stars in its debut season, so the choice of the Space Center Houston as venue will be a perfect backdrop for the inaugural draft. More than 1.1 million visits and 250,000 educators and students visit the facility every year. The draft broadcast will start at 7:30 p.m. CST. The draft is not open to the public. Media wishing to attend should email media@majorleaguecricket.com
Where can I watch the Major League Cricket Draft?
MLC Network will broadcast the draft live on its YouTube Channel, with streaming also available on ESPN cricinfo. Live television coverage is available in India on Sports18 –1 (along with streaming on JioCinema) and in Pakistan on A Sports TV. Coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. CST with commentary and analysis featuring a panel led by Nikhil Uttamchandani. MLC will also post updates on its Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.
What is the Major League Cricket draft order?
Following a randomized order draw held March 13 at the Westin Oaks Houston in front of team representatives, Seattle holds the first pick for the inaugural season draft. Washington, D.C. picks second followed by New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Texas.
What is the format of the Major League Cricket Draft?
The draft will be conducted in a “snake order” format, meaning the team that picks last in the first round will get the first pick in the second round. The draft will last nine rounds. No trading of picks is allowed. Each team has three minutes to make their selections in rounds 1-5 and two minutes in rounds 6-9. The ninth round will consist of a rookie player selection (Under-23). If a U-23 player is selected by a team in rounds 1-8, that team must still select a U-23 player in the ninth round.
Following the conclusion of the first half of the Minor League Cricket (MiLC) season, a further round of the draft will take place in early July allowing teams to select one additional player based on performances throughout the MiLC season. That player will be added to the full team roster. An additional two U-23 players serving in development roles for each squad will also be selected to provide further opportunities for young players to rub shoulders with some of the world’s best T20 cricketers and coaching staff.
What players are available to be selected in the Major League Cricket Draft?
There are more than 100 US-based cricketers available to be selected, almost all of whom have spent the previous two seasons playing in Minor League Cricket, the pathway tournament for Major League Cricket. MiLC features 26 teams and more than 400 players participating nationwide, forming part of the fast-growing American cricket landscape helping to develop a new generation of talent domestically.
When does the Major League Cricket season start?
All six teams will converge for a combined 19 games over 18 days starting July 13 and leading up to the final on July 30. The first weekend of games will be played at the renovated cricket-specific Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas. More details including the season format, schedule and ticket information will be released at a later date.
What is Major League Cricket?
Major League Cricket will be the first professional Twenty20 cricket championship in the United States, launching in the summer of 2023. MLC will feature top players from around the globe while also providing an opportunity for domestic cricketers to showcase their talents to a global audience, bringing world-class T20 cricket to America for the first time.