Steve Smith will play two matches in MLC (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
Superstar batter Steve Smith will squeeze in a short stint in the upcoming Major League Cricket season between the World Test Championship final and Australia’s tour of the West Indies.
In a tonic for the third edition of the well-heeled American T20 competition, the 35-year-old Smith is set to play two games for Washington Freedom – the franchise he captained to last year’s title.
He is likely to be available for Washington’s games against LA Knight Riders in Oakland on June 17 and MI New York in Dallas on June 21.
“It’s great to have Steve Smith again with us this season albeit only for probably two matches,” Freedom general manager Michael Klinger told me. “That continuity is really important for us. He was a fantastic leader for us last year, a big reason why we won.
“Hopefully he will be part of the Washington Freedom setup for many years to come.”
Steve Smith has a busy upcoming schedule (Photo by Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
There had been uncertainty over Smith’s status in this season’s MLC, which runs from June 12-July 13, due to Australia’s tight Test schedule. Australia play South Africa in the WTC final from June 11-15 at Lord’s followed by three Tests and five T20Is on the Caribbean tour. The first Test in Barbados starts on June 25.
Smith’s availability is a major boost for MLC with high-profile players Pat Cummins, Josh Inglis, Travis Head, Marco Jansen and Ryan Rickelton to miss the entire season due to Test commitments.
It also underlines the passion of Smith, who is based partly in New York, to help develop cricket in the U.S and he has stated that he wants to represent Australia at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Smith retired from 50-over cricket in March, but remains available for selection in Test and T2oI cricket. He has not played for Australia in the shortest format since February 2024, but will be determined to make the squad for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Steve Smith remains available for Test and T20I selection (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Even though his MLC stint will be sandwiched between Test duties, Smith has had no problems previously switching gears.
He memorably smashed a century for Sydney Sixers against Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League just days after Australia’s momentous series victory over India in January.
“He (Smith) has a history of going from Test to T20 cricket and performing really well,” Klinger said. “Hopefully he churns out a couple of hundreds in the World Test Championship final, (before he) joins us for a couple of games, leads us well and scores some runs.”
Washington have added Australian allrounder Mitchell Owen along with quicks Jason Behrendorff and Ben Sears to their squad. With Smith to miss the bulk of the season, an announcement on Freedom’s captaincy is expected in the coming days.
The Freedom open the MLC season against San Francisco Unicorns at the Oakland Coliseum on June 12 in a rematch of last year’s final.
The iconic Coliseum, the former home of the NFL’s Raiders and MLB’s Athletics, will host nine matches from June 12-18 before the expanded 34-game tournament shifts to Dallas and Broward County in Florida.
