Washington Freedom secured the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024 title with a commanding 96-run victory over the San Francisco Unicorns in Dallas, led by a stellar performance from Steven Smith. Smith, along with fellow Australian Glenn Maxwell, dominated the batting, setting a high target that the Unicorns failed to chase down, with Marco Jansen taking three wickets.
Freedom's win cemented their reputation as the standout team of the season, having won five group-stage matches and advancing directly to the final by defeating the Unicorns in the Qualifier. The pivotal moment of the final came with an explosive partnership of 83 runs off 39 balls between Smith and Maxwell, propelling Freedom to add 121 runs in the latter half of their innings.
Smith, who was left out of Australia's T20 World Cup squad earlier this year, scored 88 off 52 balls, including six sixes, overcoming a slow start in the powerplay. From being 10 off 12 balls in the sixth over, he accelerated to reach a half-century in 34 balls and concluded the season as the joint second-highest run-scorer, tied with Travis Head, amassing 336 runs at a strike rate of 148.67.
Head, who had been striking at over 170 throughout the tournament, was dismissed early by Pat Cummins, caught by Finn Allen after an initial drop. Andries Gous provided momentum to Freedom's innings as Smith found his rhythm, and after Haris Rauf dismissed Rachin Ravindra post the halfway mark, the match was evenly poised at 86 for 3. Smith and Maxwell then took control, with a notable 28 runs coming off Juanoy Drysdale's over. Smith displayed an impressive scoop for six off Rauf and was nearing a century when he was caught off Cummins.
Though it seems Smith's T20I career may be over following his World Cup omission and his absence from the squad to face Scotland and England in September, he enjoyed a successful stint in the US. Maxwell, despite being caught brilliantly by Josh Inglis, contributed to pushing Freedom's total past 200.
The Unicorns struggled from the outset in their chase. Jake Fraser-McGurk's tournament ended disappointingly as he was bowled by Jansen for just 81 runs at an average of 11.57. Sanjay Krishnamurthi and Allen also fell within the powerplay, leaving a challenging chase. Sherfane Rutherford was caught spectacularly by Ian Holland at deep backward square immediately after being dropped, and the rest of the lineup collapsed under the mounting run rate pressure.
This victory also marked a coaching triumph for Ricky Ponting, coming just weeks after he stepped down from his role with the Delhi Capitals.