Cricket has taken off in the US with the T20 World Cup being hosted in America and the US making the super eights of the tournament. Despite the World Cup coming to an end, the attention of Cricket fans will remain in the US with Season 2 of Major League Cricket being right around the corner. Six star-studded teams ready to battle it out to be crowned the champions of the biggest cricket tournament in America.
The Washington Freedom, who had a stellar season last year ending in third place, are back and eager to go a couple steps further to lift the trophy this time. In the inaugural 2023 season, Freedom won three out of their six games, with their tournament ending after a loss in the eliminator.Â
Last year, Freedom scored at an average of 7.9 runs per over during the league stage. While this was below average in the tournament, their bowling more than made up for it. Conceding just 7.8 runs per over, the DC based team were undoubtedly the best in the tournament when it came to limiting the flow of runs.Â
The domestic core for Freedom remains the same. Fresh from being the US’ top run getter in the T20 World Cup, Andries Gous retains his spot at the top of the order. Gous has had a fantastic tournament with the US, scoring 219 runs at a strike rate of 151. His explosiveness at the start was critical for the US and the Freedom will be hoping he can do something similar for them as well. Last year, Gous had the second highest strike rate in the entire Freedom side, after Marco Jansen. Mukhtar Ahmed and Obus Piennar are in the side as well. Mukhtar played a couple of handy knocks last year, while Obus did well as a finisher, especially in the game against LAKR where he played an unbeaten cameo to take the side home.Â
Looking to add some more firepower to their batting line up, Freedom have picked up a few quality international batsmen. Travis Head, who recently became the number one ranked T20I batsmen joins the side, along with his fellow Australian teammates Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell. The addition of these three will certainly add depth to the Freedom’s batting line up. The rising star Rachin Ravindra also makes his way into the side. With these additions, a clear focus can be seen from the Freedom: be more aggressive with the bat.Â
Head will most probably pair up with Gous at the top of the order. That will certainly be a partnership to watch out for. Arguably the most destructive opening pair in the tournament, Head and Gous are both players who have the ability to take the game away from their opposition in the powerplay itself.Â
Ravindra and Smith as options for the middle order certainly strengthens the team. While Smith wasn’t a part of Australia’s World Cup setup, he will be eager to get back to T20 Cricket in MLC. With New Zealand’s early group stage exit, Ravindra didn’t quite have the World Cup he would have liked. Striking at 160 in the last IPL just a few months ago though, he’ll be looking to replicate some of those performances in the US.Â
Joining Obus as a finisher, Maxwell also comes into the side. A versatile player, Maxwell adds depth with both bat and ball in hand. His finishing abilities with the bat could be a game changer for the Freedom, who barring one game against NY were averaging just seven runs per over in the last five.Â
While these additions will certainly help the Freedom team, they’ve also lost a few batters going into the second season. Amongst Glenn Phillips, Matthew Short, and Josh Philippe, their captain Mosises Henriques is also not part of the team anymore.Â
With the ball in hand, the Freedom don’t have too many changes, which was expected after their outstanding season last year. The big change is Lockie Ferguson replacing Anrich Nortje. Andrew Tye and Ian Holland have also been added, further strengthening the phenomenal pace setup the side already had. Marco Jansen retains his place and will be an integral part of the side. Being very economical up front, he’s been instrumental in South Africa’s journey to the finals of the World Cup. In the semi finals, he bagged the man of the match award after bowling beautifully in the powerplay. Jansen has also chipped in with the bat, playing a cameo against the West Indies to ensure his side qualifies for the final four. Saurabh Netravalkar and Justin Dill are two of the domestic pacers in the side. Netravlkar has been hitting headlines with his incredible performances in the World Cup. Picking up wickets of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Mohammed Rizwan, amongst some other big names in world cricket, Netravalkar will be a delight to watch in the Freedom side. Last year, he was the leading wicket taker for Freedom picking up ten wickets with an economy of just 7.3.Â
In the spin department, Dane Piedt is no longer in the side. The Freedom still have quality spinners with the likes of Akeal Hossein, Glenn Maxwell, Amila Aponso, and Akhilesh Bodugum. Hossein, being a part of the West Indies World Cup team, has done well bowling in the powerplay. Not only is he economical, but he’s also been a wicket taking option up front. In fact, he bagged a player of the match award after a spell of 5/11 in his four overs.Â
On top of all the new players they have added, the addition of Ricky Ponting as head coach will help the side significantly because of all the experience he possesses. Overall, this Washington Freedom side has shaped up really well. They have made some smart additions which further bolsters their side in their hunt for the MLC title.
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