SCHEDULE RELEASED SCHEDULE FOR INITIAL MAJOR LEAGUE CRICKET SEASON

Major League Cricket (MLC) today announced the complete schedule for America’s first-ever professional franchise cricket league, starting Thursday, July 13, 2023. 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 Way, Morrisville, NC) will host 19 games. Many of the world’s top cricketers will represent the six MLC teams competing for the season-opening title on Sunday 30 July.

Fans who want the first chance at the best tickets at the lowest prices of the MLC season can access them through the now open presale window. Priority ticketing can be secured at majorleaguecricket.com/tickets, with general on-sale starting Monday, June 12 at 4 p.m. ET. With tickets starting at just $30 for games in Grand Prairie and $15 for games in Morrisville, NC, fans can purchase tickets for both single games and multiple doubleheaders over the course of three weeks.

The first-ever MLC match begins at 7:30 PM 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 take on the Los Angeles Knight Riders, with both teams bringing in superstar players who have featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.

The following day, Friday, July 14th, fans will have a chance to see a doubleheader starting at 3:30pm as MI New York takes on the San Francisco Unicorns. The Unicorns have signed former Australian one-day international captain Aaron Finch, Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, South African Lungi Ngidi, England World Cup-winning fast bowler Liam Plunkett and New Zealand star Corey Anderson.

Friday night’s game features the Seattle Orcas and the Washington Freedom. The Pacific Northwest side have announced the signings of South African internationals Quinton de Kock and Wayne Parnell, Zimbabwean Sikandar Raza and Sri Lankan Dasun Shanaka. Stars announced by the Freedoms include South Africans Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen, Sri Lankan spin bowler Wanindu Hasaranga and New Zealanders Glenn Phillips and Adam Milne and Australians Josh Philippe and Moises Henriques.

Saturday night’s game will see the Unicorns take on the Orcas, while Sunday’s doubleheader will feature the home state Texas Super Kings against Freedom in the afternoon and an evening game between the LA Knight Riders and MI New York. Monday (Super Kings vs. MI New York) and Tuesday (Unicorns vs. Knight Riders) night games follow to complete the first series of Grand Prairie games.

MLC then moves to North Carolina for another week of competition at Church Street Park in Morrisville. On Thursday, July 20th, at 5:30 PM EST, Freedom against the Knight Riders will begin at the scenic location, which is currently being upgraded to expand and improve the facility. Six more matches will be played between Friday and Tuesday (list below) to determine which four teams will advance to the finals weekend, with two teams eliminated.

The first-ever MLC Championship final brings a series of exciting playoff games to Grand Prairie Stadium. In the Eliminator match, the third and fourth seeds will meet on Thursday, July 27, starting at 15:30. The winner advances to the Challenger match and the loser is eliminated. In the evening, the top two will compete with the winner of this qualifier advancing directly to the championship final.

On Friday night, July 28th, there will be a Challenger match, where the winner of the Eliminator game will face the loser of the qualifier to determine who will advance to the championship final on Sunday, July 30th. The last match crowns the opening match. The Major League Cricket Championship is scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM CST at Grand Prairie Stadium. Details of the international and domestic broadcasts of the historic race will be announced soon.