Cricket Victoria agrees landmark partnership with Major League Cricket

In a first of its kind for Victorian cricket, Cricket Victoria has finalised a strategic partnership with the San Francisco-based Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise to support the team for the inaugural edition of the competition that will take place later this year.

Set to feature six teams representing major metropolitan areas in the USA, San Francisco will compete alongside Dallas, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Seattle and New York City in the tournament.

Set to commence on 13th July this year at Grand Prairie Stadium near Dallas, Texas, the 18-day tournament will feature some of the biggest stars in world cricket taking part alongside the United States’ best domestic talent.

The new program expands Cricket Victoria’s existing global footprint which includes an ongoing cricket development relationship with Japan Cricket, as well as having hosted and worked closely with international teams competing in World Cups and English county cricket teams at its headquarters in St Kilda over the last three years.

The initial phase of the partnership in 2023 will see Cricket Victoria and the San Francisco side focus on building their team ahead of the inaugural season of Major League Cricket, but ultimately could lead to a number of high-performance oriented initiatives that will provide opportunities for Victoria’s emerging talent as well as the chance to US-based players to learn and grow within Victorian cricket.

The professional services agreement with the San Francisco franchise, and its lead investors Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan (both Founding Partners of Rocketship VC and leading Bay Area entrepreneurs), focuses on preparing the team for on-field success during the inaugural season of MLC.

Cricket Victoria representatives will be in attendance at the iconic Space Center Houston, the official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center, on 19th March for the inaugural MLC Player Draft, as they assist in compiling a talented squad for the San Francisco franchise ahead of MLC’s inaugural season.

Advising that the partnership with the Bay Area based franchise was an exciting prospect,

Cricket Victoria Chief Executive, Nick Cummins stated “it’s an incredible opportunity and we’re excited to see how it unfolds over the months ahead.

“We’ve had very productive conversations with MLC and the lead investors of the San Francisco team over the last few months which have led us to this point.

“Beyond that, we have a responsibility to present new opportunities to Victorian cricket. In a rapidly evolving global cricket landscape, we believe our partnership with San Francisco and MLC gives us a chance to do just that.”

Exclusively sanctioned by USA Cricket, Major League Cricket will be the first professional Twenty20 cricket championship in the USA.

Featuring top players from around the world, while also providing an opportunity for domestic cricketers to showcase their talents to a global audience, the tournament will bring world-class T20 cricket to America for the first time.