Image Credit- Getty
Major League Cricket (MLC) stated on Tuesday that the two leagues will overlap by six days in July, meaning that half of the international players in the men’s Hundred may arrive in the UK late this year.
The MLC’s first season finished two days before the Hundred began last year, but this year the leagues will face off. The Hundred’s group stage will begin on July 23. MLC will go until the championship on July 28. Four of the six teams will compete in the knockout matches, which will begin on July 24.
Before the competition begins on July 5, more additions or retentions in the MLC could be reported, making twelve of the 24 international players under contract in the men’s Hundred officially announced. Until their specific franchises are terminated, the great majority of them will remain in the United States.
Stephen Fleming is probably going to defy expectations and give the Hundred priority. Fleming coaches the Texas Super Kings in the MLC while he is in India with the Chennai Super Kings, but his Hundred team, the Southern Brave, has been assured he will get to the UK in time for their July 24 first game. Fleming was contacted, but he did not reply.
Some Hundred teams may start their initial game without two or even three international players, depending on which MLC teams make it to the playoffs. For example, Kieron Pollard (MI New York), Akeal Hosein (Washington Freedom), and Finn Allen (San Francisco Unicorns) might not be available for Fleming’s Brave’s opening game.
A day later than anticipated, on July 5, MLC will begin, with the 21-match group stage lasting until July 23. Every squad will participate in seven group games. The dates of the four elimination matches are July 24 (Eliminator), July 25 (Qualifier), July 26 (Challenger), and July 28 (Final).