The MLC play-offs directly clashed with The Hundred this year, as the two biggest franchise leagues of the Northern Hemisphere summer.
The overlap between the two competitions has caused significant disruption in the overseas player marker, with several marquee names not available for the start of The Hundred.
Major League Cricket: New kid on the block, but an attractive option
Although the MLC is only in its second season, it has a huge volume of high profile international names on its roster. The most notable of these this season was Pat Cummins, who announced he would captain San Francisco Unicorns ahead of the tournament for its entirety, and on a multi-year basis until 2027. This was a significant coup for the youngest franchise league on the circuit to snap up the Australia captain, but also a blow for The Hundred that its biggest rival was able to attract the biggest names in the world.
The overseas names in MLC are second only to the IPL. To name just a few of the regulars on the franchise circuit who played in the tournament this year, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Trent Boult, Dwayne Bravo and Glenn Maxwell are some of the most well-known.
Passion for Test cricket 🏏
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 2, 2024
Secrets to maintaining peak fitness 💪
frustrations of wicketkeeping 😤
New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips shares insights into his cricketing journey in an exclusive interview with @Katya_Wisden
Read here: https://t.co/Os2vtlaxUM pic.twitter.com/uGCABVMM86
However, where MLC has overtaken the Hundred is in its ability to attract either centrally contracted overseas players who are limited in the number of franchise tournaments they play. For example, South Africa players Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Heinrich Klaasen all picked up stints in the MLC. As did Australia's Alex Carey, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith and Travis Head.
Having multiple such high profile names in a squad means even below the elite level, the pool of overseas players is deep. For The Hundred, that does not exist this year. Several of the most high profile names dropped out before the tournament began. Shaheen Shah Afridi was set to play in the competition but withdrew at the beginning of the summer. The same happened with Naseem Shah as the PCB tighten their NOC regulations. With fewer international heavy weights and the overseas players beneath them short on star quality, there's no doubt the MLC overseas roster is far superior.
Why does The Hundred lag behind MLC?
There is a significant overlap of players who played in the MLC also playing in The Hundred once their obligations in the USA are fulfilled. Rashid Khan flew over after the conclusion of the MLC to reprise his place in Trent Rockets' squad. Adam Zampa did similar. But, in the gap before the highest profile names flew over, the tournament was notably less competitive.
There are several reasons why The Hundred has fallen so far off MLC in terms of overseas players. Firstly, the rules of MLC are specifically designed to bring in top quality talent from overseas, with cricket still a minority sport in the USA. Each franchise can have up to nine overseas players, with a maximum of six in an XI.
For The Hundred, only three overseas players are allowed in a squad. Not only is there simply more space for overseas players, but as more names join the competition, the quality of the cricket is guaranteed to be better with marquee players often making up more than half of each side.
With 10 runs needed off 10 balls, Dan Mousley produced a death bowling masterclass 🔥
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 1, 2024
75mph yorkers from an off-spinner, nailed with incredible precision! 🎯
Have you ever seen anything like this before?#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/BEF65fjz0b
The spectre of the IPL looms large
The IPL factor is also important. Four of the six MLC teams are owned by franchises with teams in the IPL. Players with contracts in one competition to a franchise with a presence in another have an easier way-in to a competition than those who don't. They can also go lengths to securing their place in another franchise competition they want to play in, like the IPL through playing for a franchise with a team in that league in a competition like MLC.
In many ways, particularly looking at the advances of competitions like the SA20 and MLC, franchise competitions who do not have some element of IPL team ownership are rapidly falling behind.
Read more: Five uncapped players who England could pick for the Australia white-ball series
The timing of MLC this year also could not have been more perfect to attract the biggest names. With the T20 World Cup held in the Caribbean, it was a convenient hop over after the end of the tournament. There's also been a lack of international cricket outside of the England v West Indies Tests, meaning most players could afford to pick up a paycheque in a league before rejoining their national squads.
With the perfect conditions created this year for a tidal wave of overseas stars to add glitz to MLC, it's left The Hundred in a difficult position playing catch-up.
Follow Wisden for all The Hundred updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
