2026 Washington Freedom season

Washington Freedom
2026 season
CoachRicky Ponting
CaptainSteve Smith
Overseas player
MLCRunners-up
Most runsAndries Gous (543)
← 2025 2027 →

The 2026 Washington Freedom season was the fourth season of the Washington Freedom franchise in Major League Cricket (MLC).[1] The team was captained by Steven Smith, who returned from an injury and international commitments,[2] and coached by Ricky Ponting.[3]

The first half of the tournament was a mixed bag overall for the Freedom, marked by a loss-win trend; in their season opener against Seattle in Dallas, an Ottneil Baartman 4-fer set up a 5-wicket loss,[4] while a day later Mitchell Owen's record-breaking 155 delivered their first win of the season against New York.[5] The pattern held as Jessy Singh's 5-fer handed the Freedom a crushing 88-run defeat to Seattle before a last-ball six by Nikhil Chaudhary capped off a thrilling win over Texas.[6][7] The Freedom ended its Oakland leg and reached the tournament's halfway stage with a battering 8-wicket defeat to San Francisco, set up by Lhuan-dre Pretorius' 26-ball 66.[8] Heading into the Pomona leg of the tournament, the Freedom maintained a 2–3 record, placing outside of the top four.

The second half of the tournament was dominant; the Freedom went 4–1 in their five remaining games. By routing Los Angeles by six wickets and overcoming San Francisco by five, the team snapped their loss-win trend and soared to the top of the table.[9][10] Barring an 18-run loss in a rematch to Los Angeles,[11] the Freedom won their next two games against Texas and New York by three and five wickets, clinching a third-place group stage finish and a playoff spot for the fourth year running.[12][13] In their first eliminator game, Andries Gous' 132 and Smith's 110* led the Freedom to triumph in a record-breaking chase of 267, driving the team's rally into the challenger match, where Gous' 73 propelled the Freedom past San Francisco into the final for the third straight time.[14][15] At the final, the Freedom were beat out narrowly by one run as Shadley van Schalkwyk held on, three wickets falling in the final over.[16]

Background

Ahead of the start of the season, the Freedom retained the core of their squad from the previous seasons, including Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Rachin Ravindra, Lockie Ferguson, Jack Edwards, Mitchell Owen and Mark Chapman. The team also retained several domestic players such as Andries Gous, Saurabh Netravalkar, and Ian Holland. The team added overseas signings Ben Dwarshuis and Nikhil Chaudhary, replacing players amongst the like of Justin Dill and Glenn Phillips.[17]

Squad

  • Players with international caps are listed in bold.
Washington Freedom 2026
Name Nat. Date of Birth Batting Style Bowling Style Year signed Notes
Batters
Steve Smith  AustraliaJune 2, 1989Right-handedRight-arm leg spin2024Direct signing
Mark Chapman  New Zealand June 27, 1994 Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2025 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 Australia16 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
Obus Pienaar  United StatesDecember 12, 1989Right-handedLeft-arm off spin2023
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
Marco Jansen  South Africa 1 May 2000 Right-handed Left-arm fast 2023 Direct signing
Lockie Ferguson  New ZealandJune 13, 1991Right-handedRight-arm fast2024Direct signing
Ben Dwarshuis  Australia 23 June 1994 Left-handed Left-arm fast-medium 2023 Direct signing
Amila Aponso  United StatesJune 23, 1993Right-handedSlow left-arm orthodox2024
Yasir Mohammad  United StatesOctober 10, 2002Left-handedLegbreak Googly2024

League stage

Match 3
June 19, 2026
19:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Washington Freedom
216 (20 overs)
v
Seattle Orcas
219/5 (17.4 overs)
Mitchell Owen 61 (25)
Ottneil Baartman 4/33 (4 overs)
Tim Seifert 78 (33)
Ian Holland 2/20 (3.4 overs)
Seattle Orcas won by 5 wickets
Grand Prairie Stadium, Grand Prairie
Umpires: Vijaya Mallela (USA) and Leslie Reifer (WI)
Player of the match: Ottneil Baartman (Seattle Orcas)
  • Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
Match 5
June 20, 2026
19:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Washington Freedom
245/5 (20 overs)
v
MI New York
215/6 (20 overs)
Mitchell Owen 155 (68)
Corey Anderson 1/27 (2 overs)
Kieron Pollard 100* (56)
Glenn Maxwell 2/37 (4 overs)
Washington Freedom won by 30 runs
Grand Prairie Stadium, Grand Prairie
Umpires: Vijaya Mallela (UAS) and Rushane Samuels (WI)
Player of the match: Mitchell Owen (Washington Freedom)
  • MI New York won the toss and elected to field.

Standing

Points table

Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR Qualification
1 San Francisco Unicorns (3rd) 10 6 4 0 12 0.487 Advanced to Qualifier
2 Los Angeles Knight Riders (C) 10 6 4 0 12 0.245
3 Washington Freedom (R) 10 6 4 0 12 −0.399 Advanced to Eliminator
4 MI New York (4th) 10 5 5 0 10 −0.165
5 Seattle Orcas 10 4 6 0 8 0.034 Eliminated
6 Texas Super Kings 10 3 7 0 6 −0.151
Source: ESPNCricinfo
(C) Champions; (R) Runners-up

Match summary

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

Playoffs

QualifierChallengerFinal
July 15 – OaklandJuly 18 – Oakland
1Unicorns180/4 (20 overs)QWKnight Riders164 (19.4 overs)
2Knight Riders187/3 (20 overs)July 16 – OaklandCWWashington Freedom163/9 (20 overs)
QLUnicorns231/6 (20 overs)
EliminatorEWWashington Freedom238/6 (20 overs)
July 15 – Oakland
3Washington Freedom270/4 (18.4 overs)
4MI New York266/9 (20 overs)

Eliminator

Eliminator
July 15, 2026
18:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
MI New York
266/9 (20 overs)
v
Washington Freedom
270/4 (18.4 overs)
Nicholas Pooran 106 (33)
Rachin Ravindra 4/29 (4 overs)
Andries Gous 132 (51)
Shakib Al Hasan 2/34 (4 overs)
Washington Freedom won by 6 wickets
Oakland Coliseum, Oakland
Umpires: Wayne Knights (NZ) and Jermaine Lindo (USA)
Player of the match: Andries Gous (Washington Freedom)
  • Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
  • Andries Gous (Washington Freedom) became the first American cricketer to score a century in MLC.
  • Nicholas Pooran (MI New York) became the first cricketer to score the fastest half-century (off 14 balls), breaking Rovman Powell's record (off 15 balls) and the fastest century (off 31 balls), breaking Finn Allen's record (off 34 balls) in MLC.

Challenger

Challenger
July 16, 2026
18:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Washington Freedom
238/6 (20 overs)
v
San Francisco Unicorns
231/6 (20 overs)
Andries Gous 73 (40)
Xavier Bartlett 3/36 (4 overs)
Matthew Short 121* (56)
Ben Dwarshuis 2/44 (4 overs)
Washington Freedom won by 7 runs
Oakland Coliseum, Oakland
Umpires: Leslie Reifer (WI) and Rushane Samuels (WI)
  • San Francisco Unicorns won the toss elected to field.

Final

Final
July 18, 2026
16:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
v
Washington Freedom
163/9 (20 overs)
Andre Fletcher 47 (27)
Ben Dwarshuis 3/31 (4 overs)
Obus Pienaar 53 (24)
Sunil Narine 3/13 (4 overs)
Los Angeles Knight Riders won by 1 run
Oakland Coliseum, Oakland
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Wayne Knights (NZ)
Player of the match: Sunil Narine (Los Angeles Knight Riders)
  • Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.

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. ↑ Roller, Matt (September 10, 2025). "Major League Cricket MLC season 4 pencilled in for June–July 2026". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Steve Smith is all set to usher in a new era for Washington Freedom". Washington Freedom. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Cognizant Major League Cricket 2026 Schedule ANNOUNCED". Washington Freedom. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Tim Seifert, Matthew Breetzke star as Seattle Orcas pull off stunning 217-run chase to beat Washington Freedom". The Times of India. June 20, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  5. ↑ Lewis, Tyler (June 21, 2026). "Mitch Owen hammers a historic century in US Major League Cricket". News.com.au. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Hetmyer, Stoinis and Jasdeep fire Orcas to huge win". Cricbuzz. June 25, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Chaudhary's last-ball six wins it for Freedom after Hosein's hat-trick". ESPNcricinfo. June 27, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  8. ↑ Zahid, Rvel (June 28, 2026). "Pretorius and Allen batter Freedom and take Unicorns to the top". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Another batting collapse leaves LAKR rooted to the bottom". Cricbuzz. July 1, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  10. ↑ "MLC 2026: Steve Smith's first fifty of season powers Washington Freedom to top of table". The Times of India. July 5, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  11. ↑ Mahbub, Rashad (July 9, 2026). "Tromp, Fletcher and Russell lift LAKR to No. 3". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Ben Dwarshuis stars with the bat to end TSK's playoffs hopes". Cricbuzz. July 11, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Shakib shines despite MI New York defeat". Daily Sun. July 15, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  14. ↑ Higgins, Josh (July 16, 2026). "'Insane' Smith breaks ALL-TIME T20 chase record as absurd 40-ball century saves team's season". Fox Sports. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  15. ↑ Patel, Smit (July 17, 2026). "It was always going to be Andries Gous". Cricbuzz. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  16. ↑ Muthu, Deivarayan (July 18, 2026). "Los Angeles Knight Riders pull off last-ball win for first MLC title". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Cognizant MLC 2026: Washington Freedom announces player retentions and new signings". Washington Freedom. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
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