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The Major League Cricket (MLC), the USA’s premier T20 competition, is all set to get underway for its first edition on July 13, 2023. The tournament will be hosted in Dallas, Texas. 

The MLC will be played in a single round-robin format in 15 league stage matches, followed by the knockouts. It was announced earlier that six franchises will be competing in the tournament, based out of major cities in the country like Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington DC, San Francisco and New York City. 

The Knight Riders group, who already own T20 teams in West Indies and India, have acquired the Los Angeles franchise. There is a proposal in the works that will see a 10,000-capacity stadium built for the team. 

However, since not all the franchises are ready with a venue of their own, the first edition will be played majorly in Dallas. Church Street Park in North Carolina is another stadium that can be used for a few games in the tournament. 

The tournament will primarily aim to bring spectators to the stadiums rather than focusing their schedules according to broadcast requirements. This means that there will be plenty of day-night matches in the series, which will air in India early in the morning. 

Cricket wave in USA is about to pick up from next year, with the country set to co-host the T20 World Cup 2024 alongside West Indies. 

"Next summer, the eyes of world cricket will be on the launch of Major League Cricket, with the stars of the game competing over three weeks of fast-paced T20 action," Justin Geale, MLC Tournament Director, said.

"The launch of MLC will transform American cricket and provide one of the best platforms in the sport for the world's most elite players to showcase their skills while also fast-tracking the development of domestic talent to feature in the league."

The Major League Cricket announcement also coincided with the turf installation at Grand Prairie Stadium, a ground being prepared to host matches during the World Cup. The venue was previously known as Airhogs Stadium, which hosted minor league baseball matches. 

Australian curator Dave Agnew has been appointed as the head curator to oversee the development of the Grand Prairie Stadium.

Featured Image: USA Cricket

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