Series 2 · MLC · Report 0475 matches · 3 seasons · Cricsheet CC BY 3.0

Three Seasons of MLC

Major League Cricket has played 75 matches across three seasons — 19 in 2023, 23 in 2024, 33 in 2025. With Season 4 opening June 2026, we analyse what 17,413 deliveries of ball-by-ball data reveal about the league's batting elites, death bowling aces, biggest improvers, and the players to watch next.

Matches
75
Deliveries
17,413
Players
166
Seasons
2023 · 2024 · 2025

§1 — The league in numbers

Season-on-season growth in matches, players, and deliveries.

SeasonMatchesPlayersDeliveriesGrowth (matches)
202319834,494
2024231035,183+21%
2025331097,736+43%
2023–202575166 unique17,413+74%

Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 · MLC 2023, 2024, 2025 · computed 2026-05-18

§2 — All-time batting elite

Top 10 run-scorers across all three MLC seasons combined. Floor: ≥30 balls faced.

#PlayerFranchiseRunsBallsSRSeasons
1F du PlessisTX SK934571163.63
2N PooranMI NY928640145.03
3Q de KockMI NY807569141.83
4FH AllenSF Unicorns714354201.73
5MW ShortSF Unicorns682431158.23
6MD PatelMI NY674523128.93
7DP ConwayTX SK649485133.83
8UBT ChandLA KR528444118.93
9AGS GousDC Freedom511389131.43
10KA PollardMI NY488309157.93

Floor: ≥30 balls faced career · Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 · 3 seasons combined

§3 — Cross-season stalwarts

Players who cleared the batting floor (≥30 balls) in two or more distinct seasons. The backbone of MLC — available every year, contributing every year.

PlayerFranchiseCareer runsCareer SRActive seasonsSR trend
F du PlessisTX SK934163.62023 · 2024 · 2025+84.0
N PooranMI NY928145.02023 · 2024 · 2025-31.4
Q de KockMI NY807141.82023 · 2024 · 2025-7.7
FH AllenSF Unicorns714201.72023 · 2024 · 2025+63.5
MW ShortSF Unicorns682158.22023 · 2024 · 2025+38.4
MD PatelMI NY674128.92023 · 2024 · 2025+42.7
DP ConwayTX SK649133.82023 · 2024 · 2025+1.1
UBT ChandLA KR528118.92023 · 2024 · 2025+27.7
AGS GousDC Freedom511131.42023 · 2024 · 2025+12.1
KA PollardMI NY488157.92023 · 2024 · 2025+9.9
H KlaasenSeattle474155.42023 · 2024 · 2025-59.6
AD RussellLA KR461155.22023 · 2024 · 2025-13.7

SR trend = (latest qualifying season SR) − (earliest qualifying season SR). Floor: ≥30 balls per season.

§4 — Death bowling aces

Bowlers who cleared the death-overs floor (≥15 balls in overs 16–20) in two or more seasons. Sorted by seasons qualifying, then by career death economy.

PlayerFranchiseDeath econDeath ballsQualifying seasonsPer-season econ
CJ GannonSeattle7.18712023 · 2024 · 20252023: 4.43 · 2024: 7.67 · 2025: 9.00
SN NetravalkarDC Freedom8.901242023 · 2024 · 20252023: 10.70 · 2024: 6.16 · 2025: 9.90
TA BoultMI NY9.432102023 · 2024 · 20252023: 8.00 · 2024: 11.56 · 2025: 9.13
MP StoinisSF Unicorns10.631362023 · 2024 · 20252023: 9.89 · 2024: 10.57 · 2025: 11.70
Haris RaufSF Unicorns10.821322023 · 2024 · 20252023: 10.80 · 2024: 11.00 · 2025: 10.63
Ali KhanLA KR11.48932023 · 2024 · 20252023: 15.13 · 2024: 8.35 · 2025: 11.23
LH FergusonLA KR7.54742023 · 20242023: 10.50 · 2024: 7.11
R ShepherdMI NY7.88512024 · 20252024: 8.25 · 2025: 7.56
SH JohnsonLA KR8.17362023 · 20242023: 7.67 · 2024: 8.67
DJ BravoTX SK8.94512023 · 20242023: 7.00 · 2024: 10.67

Floor: ≥15 balls bowled in overs 16–20 per season. Career economy = runs conceded / (balls ÷ 6) across all qualifying death deliveries.

§5 — The improvers

Biggest batting strike-rate improvement from a player's earliest qualifying MLC season to 2025. Floor: ≥30 balls in each qualifying season.

PlayerFranchiseSR ({first yr})SR (2025)Delta2025 runs
SO HetmyerSeattle122.9 (2023)213.8+90.9340
F du PlessisTX SK86.8 (2023)170.8+84.0468
SE RutherfordLA KR87.5 (2024)160.9+73.4222
FH AllenSF Unicorns163.0 (2023)226.5+63.5333
Haris RaufSF Unicorns71.9 (2024)133.3+61.444
Milind KumarTX SK98.1 (2023)154.5+56.468
Aaron JonesSeattle75.0 (2024)126.8+51.8189
AJ HoseinTX SK125.5 (2023)176.5+51.060

Floor: ≥30 balls in earliest qualifying season AND in 2025.

§6 — Season 4 watch list

Top batting strike rates in MLC 2025 (≥30 balls). These are the players entering MLC 2026 on the sharpest form — all figures are data-derived from 2025 performance.

1
FH Allen
SF Unicorns · 3 MLC seasons
226.5
SR (2025)
333
Runs
147
Balls
2
D Ferreira
TX SK · 1 MLC season
213.8
SR (2025)
248
Runs
116
Balls
3
SO Hetmyer
Seattle · 2 MLC seasons
213.8
SR (2025)
340
Runs
159
Balls
4
MJ Owen
DC Freedom · 1 MLC season
198.1
SR (2025)
313
Runs
158
Balls
5
Hassan Khan
SF Unicorns · 2 MLC seasons
187.5
SR (2025)
225
Runs
120
Balls

Floor: ≥30 balls faced in MLC 2025 · based on 2025 season form only.

Key claims — citable with provenance

Frequently asked questions

Who is the all-time leading run-scorer in Major League Cricket?
F du Plessis (TX SK) leads all-time with 934 runs from 571 balls at a strike rate of 163.6, across 3 MLC seasons (2023–2025, Cricsheet CC BY 3.0).
How many matches has Major League Cricket played across three seasons?
MLC has played 75 matches across three seasons — 19 in 2023, 23 in 2024, and 33 in 2025 — representing 74% growth from the inaugural season.
Who are the best death bowlers in MLC history?
CJ Gannon (Seattle) has the best combination of durability and consistency in MLC death overs — qualifying economy in 3 of 3 seasons, with a career death economy of 7.18 from 71 balls (floor: ≥15 death balls per season).
Which MLC players have played all three seasons?
12 players qualified above the batting floor (≥30 balls) in all three MLC seasons (2023–2025). The multi-season stalwarts include F du Plessis, N Pooran, Q de Kock, who have combined for 2669 career MLC runs.
Which players improved the most from their first MLC season to 2025?
SO Hetmyer (Seattle) showed the biggest improvement — strike rate jumped from 122.9 in 2023 to 213.8 in 2025 (+90.9 SR points), scoring 340 runs in 2025 (floor: ≥30 balls in each qualifying season).
Who are the players to watch in MLC 2026 (Season 4)?
Based on 2025 form (≥30 balls faced), the Season 4 watch list is led by FH Allen (SF Unicorns, SR 226.5 from 147 balls), D Ferreira (SR 213.8), and SO Hetmyer (SR 213.8).