2024 Washington Freedom season

Washington Freedom
2024 season
CoachRicky Ponting
CaptainSteve Smith
Overseas player
Ground(s)Grand Prairie Stadium
MLCChampions
Most runsSteve Smith (336)
Most wicketsSaurabh Netravalkar (15)
← 2023 2025 →

The 2024 Washington Freedom season was the second season of the Washington Freedom franchise in Major League Cricket (MLC).[1][2] The team was captained by Steve Smith[3] and coached by Ricky Ponting.[4][5]

Ahead of the 2024 season, previous head coach Greg Shipperd resigned and Ricky Ponting was appointed as the new head coach.[6] Moises Henriques, who had captained the team in 2023, was not retained for the 2024 season, with Steve Smith appointed as the new captain.[7]

Washington Freedom finished the league stage at the top of the table and qualified directly for the Qualifier. They defeated San Francisco Unicorns in the Qualifier to reach the final, where they defeated San Francisco Unicorns to win their first MLC title.[8][9][10]

Background

In December 2023, it was announced that the second season of the tournament would begin on July 5, 2024, four days after the conclusion of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[11] The team entered the season following a third-place finish in the inaugural 2023 Major League Cricket season, where they were eliminated by Seattle Orcas in the Eliminator.

On February 15, 2024, Washington Freedom retained overseas players Marco Jansen and Akeal Hosein.[12] On March 1, the Freedom retained several domestic players, including Mukhtar Ahmed, Akhilesh Bodugum, Justin Dill, Andries Gous, Saurabh Netravalkar and Obus Pienaar.[13]

The Freedom made several overseas signings ahead of the 2024 season, including Rachin Ravindra, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Lockie Ferguson, Andrew Tye and Jack Edwards.[14][15][16][17]

Squad

  • Players with international caps are listed in bold.
Washington Freedom 2024 roster
Name Nat. Date of Birth Batting Style Bowling Style Year signed Notes
Batters
Steve Smith  AustraliaJune 2, 1989Right-handedRight-arm leg spin2024Direct signing
Travis Head  Australia December 29, 1993 Left-handed Right-arm-off spin 2024 Direct signing
Jack Edwards  AustraliaApril 19, 2000Right-handedN/a 2024 Direct signing
Mukhtar Ahmed  PakistanDecember 20, 1992Right-handedRight-arm leg break googly2023
All-rounders
Mitchell Owen Australia11 September 2001Right-handedRight-arm medium2025
Glenn Maxwell  AustraliaOctober 14, 1988Right-handedRight-arm off break2024Direct signing
Rachin Ravindra  New ZealandNovember 18, 1999Left-handedSlow left-arm orthodox2024Direct signing
Glenn Phillips  New ZealandDecember 6, 1996Right-handedRight-arm off break2025Direct signing
Obus Pienaar  United StatesDecember 12, 1989Right-handedLeft-arm off spin2023
Justin Dill  United StatesNovember 10, 1994Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2023
Ian Holland  United StatesOctober 3, 1990Right-handedRight-arm medium2024
Wicket-keeper
Andries Gous  United StatesNovember 24, 1993Right-handed2023
Lahiru Milantha  Sri LankaMay 28, 1994Left-handed2024
Bowlers
Saurabh Netravalkar  United StatesOctober 16, 1991Right-handedLeft-arm medium fast2023
Jason Behrendorff  Australia 20 April 1990 Right-handed Left-arm fast 2025 Direct signing
Lockie Ferguson  New ZealandJune 13, 1991Right-handedRight-arm fast2024Direct signing
Akhilesh Bodugum  United StatesApril 28, 2000Right-handedRight-arm off spin2023U23 player
Amila Aponso  United StatesJune 23, 1993Right-handedSlow left-arm orthodox2024
Yasir Mohammad  United StatesOctober 10, 2002Left-handedLegbreak Googly2024

Standing

Points table

Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR Qualification
1 Washington Freedom (C) 7 5 1 1 11 1.891 Advanced to Qualifier
2 San Francisco Unicorns 7 5 1 1 11 0.588
3 Texas Super Kings 7 3 2 2 8 0.604 Advanced to Eliminator
4 MI New York 7 2 4 1 5 −0.451
5 Los Angeles Knight Riders 7 2 4 1 5 −0.710
6 Seattle Orcas 7 1 6 0 2 −1.312
Source: ESPNCricinfo
(C) Champions

Match summary

Team Group matches Playoffs
123456789 10 Q/E C F
Washington Freedom 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 12 14 16 W L
Win Loss Tie No Result

Playoffs

QualifierChallengerFinal
July 25, 2024 – DallasJuly 28, 2024 – Dallas
1Washington Freedom149/3 (15.3 overs)QWWashington Freedom207/5 (20 overs)
2San Francisco Unicorns145 (19 overs)July 26, 2024 – DallasCWSan Francisco Unicorns111 (16 overs)
QLSan Francisco Unicorns200/6 (20 overs)
EliminatorEWTexas Super Kings190/4 (20 overs)
July 24, 2024 – Dallas
3Texas Super Kings167/1 (18.3 overs)
4MI New York163/8 (20 overs)

Qualifier

July 25, 2024
7:30 PM (N)
Scorecard
v
Washington Freedom
149/3 (15.3 overs)
Hassan Khan 57 (36)
Rachin Ravindra 4/11 (2.4 overs)
Travis Head 77* (44)
Hassan Khan 2/32 (4 overs)
Washington Freedom won by 7 wickets
Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Vijaya Mallela (USA)
Player of the match: Travis Head (Washington Freedom)
  • Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.

Final

July 28, 2024
7:30 PM (N)
Scorecard
Washington Freedom
207/5 (20 overs)
v
Steve Smith 88 (52)
Pat Cummins 2/35 (4 overs)
Carmi le Roux 20* (19)
Rachin Ravindra 3/23 (4 overs)
Washington Freedom won by 96 runs
Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Marais Erasmus (SA)
Player of the match: Steve Smith (Washington Freedom)
  • San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field.

Statistics

[18]

Administration and support staff

Washington Freedom staff
Position Name
Head coach Australia Ricky Ponting
General Manager Australia Michael Klinger
Bowling coach South Africa Dale Steyn
Assistant coach England Samit Patel
Team manager England Andrew Lynch
Strength and conditioning Pakistan Umar Gul
High performance analyst Afghanistan Zamir Khan
Physiotherapist Afghanistan Noor Ali Zadran

References

  1. ↑ "MLC 2024 to begin on July 5, set for six-day clash with The Hundred". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Major League Cricket Announces 2024 Season Window". Major League Cricket. December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Steven Smith joins Washington Freedom for MLC 2024". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Ricky Ponting confirmed as Washington Freedom head coach in Major League Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Major League Cricket 2024: Washington Freedom to start against MI New York. All you need to know about Season 2". Washington Freedom. July 6, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  6. ↑ washingtonfreedom_admin (February 6, 2024). "Cricket great Ricky Ponting appointed head coach of Washington Freedom". Washington Freedom. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Major League Cricket 2024: Steve Smith to lead Washington Freedom". Washington Freedom. July 5, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Smith, Maxwell star in Washington Freedom's emphatic title win". ESPNcricinfo. July 29, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Washington Freedom Win Major League Cricket 2024: Smith and Jansen Star in the Championship". Washington Freedom. July 29, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Washington Freedom in MLC 2024: A maiden title to cap off an excellent season". Washington Freedom. August 2, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  11. ↑ "MLC 2024 set for July 4 start". Cricbuzz. December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  12. ↑ Roller, Matt (February 15, 2024). "MLC: Rashid, Klaasen, Pooran, Boult, Rauf among overseas players retained". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  13. ↑ "DOMESTIC PLAYER RETENTIONS FOR MAJOR LEAGUE CRICKET 2024 ANNOUNCED". Major League Cricket. March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  14. ↑ "'Can't wait': Steve Smith signs for Major League Cricket's Washington Freedom". Fox Sports. April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  15. ↑ Malcolm, Alex (April 15, 2024). "Travis Head joins Steven Smith at Washington Freedom for Major League Cricket 2024". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  16. ↑ Malcolm, Alex (April 18, 2024). "Maxwell signs with Washington in MLC, clarifies that form was the reason for IPL self-omission". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  17. ↑ @WSHFreedom (April 24, 2024). "Welcome to the family, Lockie Ferguson" (Tweet). Retrieved April 27, 2024 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  18. ↑ "Washington Freedom at MLC 2024: All the records and numbers you need to know". Washington Freedom. August 1, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
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