Major League Cricket has pencilled in its fourth campaign for 18 June to 18 July 2026, keeping the now-familiar early-summer slot that avoids clashes with the IPL and the Hundred. Once again six sides will contest 34 matches.
Yet the calendar clarity arrives while the league’s relationship with USA Cricket (USAC) remains hazy. USAC has still not said whether it will withdraw last year’s notice terminating its agreement with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), the organisation that bankrolls and runs MLC. Players are uneasy. Corey Anderson, speaking as operational director of the unrecognised USA Cricketers’ Association, admitted the uncertainty “makes planning careers tricky.”
Since shifting to the June-July window in 2025, MLC has expanded quickly: 19 games in its inaugural 2023 season, 25 the following year, then 34 from Season 3 onwards. Crowds and TV figures, officials say, have kept pace.
“Season 3 showed that demand for top-tier cricket in the USA is real and accelerating,” MLC chief executive Johnny Grave said. “MLC is winning new fans, followers and viewers throughout the USA and around the world. We’re delivering on our promise to grow the game across the USA and build relations with new and existing commercial partners.”
ACE claims it will pump more than US$150 million into developing ten international-standard grounds by 2030. Concrete plans are public for facilities in Texas and the Bay Area; others are pencilled, but funding models have not been released.
The current franchises remain: Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom. Two expansion teams are envisaged for 2027, with at least one potentially north of the border as officials test Canadian interest.
On the field MI New York are the benchmark, edging Washington Freedom by five runs in the 2025 final to claim a second title in three attempts. Their consistency, plus a robust local-player draft, has helped keep the league competitive, though depth will be tested if the team count rises.
Plenty, then, is moving in the right direction. But until USAC and ACE publicly settle their differences, the sport’s American experiment will continue to balance promise with a measure of precariousness.
