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.
§1 — The league in numbers
Season-on-season growth in matches, players, and deliveries.
| Season | Matches | Players | Deliveries | Growth (matches) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 19 | 83 | 4,494 | — |
| 2024 | 23 | 103 | 5,183 | +21% |
| 2025 | 33 | 109 | 7,736 | +43% |
| 2023–2025 | 75 | 166 unique | 17,413 | +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.
| # | Player | Franchise | Runs | Balls | SR | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F du Plessis | TX SK | 934 | 571 | 163.6 | 3 |
| 2 | N Pooran | MI NY | 928 | 640 | 145.0 | 3 |
| 3 | Q de Kock | MI NY | 807 | 569 | 141.8 | 3 |
| 4 | FH Allen | SF Unicorns | 714 | 354 | 201.7 | 3 |
| 5 | MW Short | SF Unicorns | 682 | 431 | 158.2 | 3 |
| 6 | MD Patel | MI NY | 674 | 523 | 128.9 | 3 |
| 7 | DP Conway | TX SK | 649 | 485 | 133.8 | 3 |
| 8 | UBT Chand | LA KR | 528 | 444 | 118.9 | 3 |
| 9 | AGS Gous | DC Freedom | 511 | 389 | 131.4 | 3 |
| 10 | KA Pollard | MI NY | 488 | 309 | 157.9 | 3 |
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.
| Player | Franchise | Career runs | Career SR | Active seasons | SR trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F du Plessis | TX SK | 934 | 163.6 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | +84.0 |
| N Pooran | MI NY | 928 | 145.0 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | -31.4 |
| Q de Kock | MI NY | 807 | 141.8 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | -7.7 |
| FH Allen | SF Unicorns | 714 | 201.7 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | +63.5 |
| MW Short | SF Unicorns | 682 | 158.2 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | +38.4 |
| MD Patel | MI NY | 674 | 128.9 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | +42.7 |
| DP Conway | TX SK | 649 | 133.8 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | +1.1 |
| UBT Chand | LA KR | 528 | 118.9 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | +27.7 |
| AGS Gous | DC Freedom | 511 | 131.4 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | +12.1 |
| KA Pollard | MI NY | 488 | 157.9 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | +9.9 |
| H Klaasen | Seattle | 474 | 155.4 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | -59.6 |
| AD Russell | LA KR | 461 | 155.2 | 2023 · 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.
| Player | Franchise | Death econ | Death balls | Qualifying seasons | Per-season econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CJ Gannon | Seattle | 7.18 | 71 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | 2023: 4.43 · 2024: 7.67 · 2025: 9.00 |
| SN Netravalkar | DC Freedom | 8.90 | 124 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | 2023: 10.70 · 2024: 6.16 · 2025: 9.90 |
| TA Boult | MI NY | 9.43 | 210 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | 2023: 8.00 · 2024: 11.56 · 2025: 9.13 |
| MP Stoinis | SF Unicorns | 10.63 | 136 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | 2023: 9.89 · 2024: 10.57 · 2025: 11.70 |
| Haris Rauf | SF Unicorns | 10.82 | 132 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | 2023: 10.80 · 2024: 11.00 · 2025: 10.63 |
| Ali Khan | LA KR | 11.48 | 93 | 2023 · 2024 · 2025 | 2023: 15.13 · 2024: 8.35 · 2025: 11.23 |
| LH Ferguson | LA KR | 7.54 | 74 | 2023 · 2024 | 2023: 10.50 · 2024: 7.11 |
| R Shepherd | MI NY | 7.88 | 51 | 2024 · 2025 | 2024: 8.25 · 2025: 7.56 |
| SH Johnson | LA KR | 8.17 | 36 | 2023 · 2024 | 2023: 7.67 · 2024: 8.67 |
| DJ Bravo | TX SK | 8.94 | 51 | 2023 · 2024 | 2023: 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.
| Player | Franchise | SR ({first yr}) | SR (2025) | Delta | 2025 runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SO Hetmyer | Seattle | 122.9 (2023) | 213.8 | +90.9 | 340 |
| F du Plessis | TX SK | 86.8 (2023) | 170.8 | +84.0 | 468 |
| SE Rutherford | LA KR | 87.5 (2024) | 160.9 | +73.4 | 222 |
| FH Allen | SF Unicorns | 163.0 (2023) | 226.5 | +63.5 | 333 |
| Haris Rauf | SF Unicorns | 71.9 (2024) | 133.3 | +61.4 | 44 |
| Milind Kumar | TX SK | 98.1 (2023) | 154.5 | +56.4 | 68 |
| Aaron Jones | Seattle | 75.0 (2024) | 126.8 | +51.8 | 189 |
| AJ Hosein | TX SK | 125.5 (2023) | 176.5 | +51.0 | 60 |
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.
Floor: ≥30 balls faced in MLC 2025 · based on 2025 season form only.
Key claims — citable with provenance
- →F du Plessis leads MLC all-time with 934 runs across 3 seasons (571 balls faced, SR 163.6).
- →CJ Gannon is MLC's most durable death bowler — qualifying economy in 3 seasons (71 death balls, economy 7.18).
- →SO Hetmyer improved batting SR from 122.9 (2023) to 213.8 (2025) — the largest single-player improvement across MLC's three seasons.
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).