Major League Cricket hopes to break through and flourish in United States

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George Bernard Shaw asserted "the English are not very spiritual people so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity."

It has been a long game, traditionally.

While cricket has flourished in England and some of its former colonies, it has never taken off to the same degree in the United States, where some have perceived it as impenetrable.

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Punjab Kings Kagiso Rabada leaves the field at the end of the Lucknow Super Giants innings during Indian Premier League cricket match between Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings in Mohali, India, on April 28, 2023. (AP Photo Surjeet Yadav, File)

A sport played in its purist form by players in long white uniforms, test cricket goes on for five days and still often ends with no winner, with days so long players twice have to leave the field for meals.

Major League Cricket, which begins on Thursday, could change that perception. For a start, the games only go for just over three hours.

MLC will comprise six teams, from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, New York and Washington, which will play a competition of 18 matches before the first final on July 30.

Teams will have a maximum of 19 and minimum of 16 players, combining international stars and home-grown players selected through a draft which was made when the league was launched, officially and metaphorically, at Space Center Houston. Each team was allowed to sign nine local players, one of which had to be under-23.

The salaries of international players will be drawn from an initial $120 million investment from corporate backers, mainly from India.

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