Major League Cricket ready for play-offs following exciting week in North Carolina 

The picturesque town of Morrisville boomed with the exhilarating cheers of cricket enthusiasts as it hosted the action-filled week two of Major League Cricket (MLC) at Church Street Park. 

Seattle Orcas, Washington Freedom, Texas Super Kings, and MI New York secured the top four spots at the end of the league matches’ stage. The four teams will now head back to Dallas to participate in the play-offs at Grand Prairie Stadium.  

Seven matches were played in the small town in northeast North Carolina in which the stakes were high as teams fought to secure their positions on the points table. The final game was quite the spectacle for fans as Heinrich Klaasen became the first player in the tournament’s history to score a century. 

Seattle Orcas fans during match fifteen of Major League Cricket season 1 between the MI New York and the Seattle Orcas held at Church Street Park, Morrisville, NC, United States of America on the 25th July 2023. Photo by: Andy Mead/ SPORTZPICS for MLC

The Orcas’ batsman led his team to a massive 195-run chase with two wickets to spare, ensuring his team maintains their position on top of the table. 

“This team has done incredibly over the last five games,” Klaasen said in the post-match conference on Tuesday. “Tonight was just my night. For me it is winning games for the team and for getting the team over the line so I’m very pleased.” 

Klaasen scored an unbeaten 110 off just 44 deliveries including three major sixes in an over against the leg-spinner Rashid Khan. Orcas leads the points table with four victories while Super Kings and Freedom are placed at number two and three respectively with three wins each. 

Heinrich Klaasen of the Seattle Orcas celebrates reaching a century during match fifteen of Major League Cricket season 1 between the MI New York and the Seattle Orcas held at Church Street Park, Morrisville, NC, United States of America on the 25th July 2023. Photo by: Andy Mead/ SPORTZPICS for MLC

New York with just two wins, barely qualified for the next round due to a better net run rate. 

Following the successful show in North Carolina, MCL has moved back to Dallas for its play-offs starting this Thursday with a double-header at Grand Prairie Stadium. 

A qualifier between Orcas and Super Kings will decide the first finalist of the tournament. The loser will then play the winner of the Eliminator one between New York and Washington for a spot in the final game which is scheduled to take place on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, San Francisco Unicorns and LA Knights Riders failed to qualify for the next round. While it took Knight Riders their last game to register their first victory, Unicorns were placed on number three when they arrived in Morrisville. 

“We wanted to maintain the momentum that we had, we were right in front of the game there but unfortunately we lost our way for a few different reasons,” Shane Watson, Unicorns’ coach, said after their loss to Super Kings on Monday. 

Texas chased the 172-run target with five balls to spare, courtesy Daniel Sams’ exhilarating unbeaten knock of 18-ball 42. 

While Super Kings were not playing at home this time, the team still managed to paint the ground all yellow with its supporters. People in huge numbers showed up wearing the Texas jersey and the classic yellow hats, waving franchise flags, and whistling throughout the game.

Vihaan Dongre supporting Texas Super Kings against San Francisco Unicorns on Monday

“I’m supporting TSK,” Vihaan Dongre, a 13-year-old kid said enthusiastically as the team continued their chase against the Unicorns on Monday. 

“They have a lot of big names like Faf, Devon Conway,” he added. Vihaan plays cricket for a u-13 team, TCL Sluggers, in Triangular Cricket League (TCL) in Morrisville. 

TCL, the biggest cricket entity in North Carolina, is a non-profit organization based in triangle region of the state encompassing Raleigh, Durham and Cary. The body aims to play and promote the game of cricket in the region among both adults and youth. 

Vihaan said he’s been to the venue before to support his home team Morrisville Raptors in Minor League Cricket. Despite being the only co-hosts of the event along with Grand Prairie in Dallas, Morrisville does not have a team representing them in the ongoing T20 tournament. 

The teenager said that while he’s upset his town does not have a team in the MCL, the fact that they’re hosting the games makes up for it. 

“I didn’t expect it, it was really surprising,” he said. “It (Morrisville) is just a small town, so we don’t see big names often and for them to come here is really exciting. It’ll inspire more people to watch cricket, play cricket and hopefully the game will develop here in US.”