Washington Freedom won their maiden Major League Cricket title with a convincing win over the San Francisco Unicorns in Dallas on Sunday. For the second consecutive year, we made it to the Playoffs, showing marked improvement from our loss in the Eliminator last year.

The team was very consistent this season, topping the points table throughout the league phase of the tournament. We lost just once in the course of nine matches, thanks to several clinical performances from our players.

Here is a look at some of the best individual performances by our players this season.

Steve Smith’s 88 off 52 balls vs SFU

There are many reasons why this knock against the San Francisco Unicorns in Dallas stands at the top of the list. It was the final of MLC 2024, and the in-form Travis Head departed in the second over of the match.

Skipper Steve Smith had to ensure that the scoring rate did not drop while also preventing further wickets from falling. He, along with Andries Gous, kept the scoreboard ticking, frequently finding boundaries.

From 27 off 25 balls, Smith shifted gears to bring up his fifty in 34 balls. He scored 61 runs in his last 27 balls as we powered to 207/5, the highest total by any team this season.

Smith added 83 runs with Glenn Maxwell from just 39 balls as we amassed 107 runs in the last eight overs of our innings. Smith had already set the base for a final flourish when he departed in the 17th over for a 52-ball 88, an innings laden with six sixes and seven fours. He deservedly won the Player of the Match award in the final after our 96-run win.

Travis Head’s 77* off 44 balls vs SFU

Chasing 146 against the Unicorns in the Qualifier match in Dallas, Travis Head opened up in the third over after settling in. Head smashed three sixes and two fours to score 30 runs off Carmi le Roux’s two overs.

We raced to 52/1, with Head already on 41 off just 21 balls at the end of the powerplay. There was a quiet phase as we lost two wickets in the next three overs. However, Head returned to form once he reached his half-century, scoring boundaries at will.

Head put together an unbeaten partnership of 85 off just 40 balls for the fourth wicket, making light work of the chase. The southpaw was unbeaten on 77 from 44 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes, as we romped home with a seven-wicket win with 27 balls to spare.

Rachin Ravindra 4/11 vs SFU

Rachin Ravindra picked up his career-best figures of 4/11 in T20 cricket in the Qualifier of MLC 2024 against San Francisco Unicorns at Dallas, which we won by seven wickets. Coming into the attack after the powerplay, Ravindra dismissed the dangerous Sanjay Krishnamurthi, the top-scorer in the last match between the two sides, off his third ball of the day.

Ravindra surprised Krishnamurthi with an arm ball that came in at pace, trapping him in front of the wicket. A wicket maiden to start with and he could not have asked for anything more.

Ravindra came back into the attack in the 18th over as Lockie Ferguson got injured after bowling two deliveries. He picked up two more off the next three balls as Haris Rauf holed out in the deep and Carmi le Roux found the timber disturbed.

In the last over, Ravindra outclassed Hassan Khan as he stepped out looking to force the pace and get some valuable runs. Ravindra bowled it wide and Hassan was caught short of his crease and had to walk back after top-scoring for the Unicorns with 57.

Lockie Ferguson 4/26 vs Seattle Orcas

Lockie Ferguson had a memorable spell against the Seattle Orcas in our group game at Dallas in MLC 2024 picking up 4/26 against them. Bowling the last over of the powerplay, Ferguson did not have an ideal start getting hit for a six and four in his first three balls.

But he came back strongly to dismiss Ryan Rickleton who was coming into this game after scoring an unbeaten century in his last match. In his next over, Ferguson bowled Quinton de Kock, who was looking in good nick, as the Orcas were reduced to 44/3.

Returning to complete his spell during the death, Ferguson put the brakes on Orcas with a double strike in the 17th over. He beat the batters with his sheer pace as Imad Wasim nicked to the keeper and Hammad Azam was out leg before wicket.

He conceded just three runs in the over to finish with impressive figures of 4/26 in four overs. The Orcas were dismissed for 124 and we won the match by five wickets.

Mukhtar Ahmed’s three catches vs TSK
Mukhtar Ahmed, with three catches against the Texas Super Kings, shares the top spot for most catches in a single match of MLC 2024. In our second group match at Morrisville, TSK was cruising at 103/0 at the halfway mark.
Mukhtar Ahmed changed the course of the match with a diving catch to dismiss Devon Conway, giving Saurabh Netravalkar his first wicket of the match. Mukhtar ran in from the midwicket boundary, dove forward, and snatched a low catch to break the high-flying partnership.
Next, Mukhtar caught the dangerman Marcus Stoinis at deep cover after covering a fair bit of ground in the outfield. Stoinis, who was on 29, was looking to go big but chased a wide delivery from Justin Dill in the 17th over, only to find Mukhtar waiting.
Mukhtar’s final catch, dismissing Calvin Savage off Marco Jansen’s bowling in the last over, was the best of all. He caught the ball just in front of the boundary rope and threw it up as he lost his balance and went outside the rope. Mukhtar completed the catch safely after stepping back onto the field.
Mukhtar had an excellent day on the field, but unfortunately, the match was called off due to rain during the second innings.