Key Takeaways
- Justin Geale, an Australian from Wagga Wagga with eight years at IMG (mostly at the IPL), is the tournament director of Major League Cricket. He calls launching MLC “the hardest thing I’ve done.”
- MLC’s inaugural season ran July 13 to 30, 2023, split between Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas (12 matches) and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina (7 matches), per Wikipedia: Major League Cricket.
- The league secured over US$120 million in funding from private investors including four IPL owners or co-owners. Over 30 IPL players joined the inaugural squad lists, earning up to $175,000 for two-and-a-half weeks of cricket.
- Geale framed MLC as one of three “touchpoints” for cricket in the USA over five years: the league’s launch, the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup co-hosted by USA and West Indies, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
- Each franchise fielded up to six overseas players in 2023. Geale said MLC would need more American-born players to be sustainable long term.
- In hindsight, Season 1 drew more than 70,000 fans, per Front Office Sports. By Season 3 in 2025, ticket sales had grown 53% year-on-year and broadcast reach expanded to 90+ countries, per USA Cricketers.
“The growth progression for the sport [in the USA] is really strong.”
— Justin Geale, MLC tournament director
Why Justin Geale is in Dallas instead of at Leeds
It is the day before the third Ashes Test but Justin Geale, an Australian from Wagga Wagga, is not in Leeds. Instead, he is 4,500 miles away in Dallas. “I’m walking around the stadium now,” he says. “It’s about 40 degrees, and there’s a cricket ground out in the middle.”
Geale is the tournament director for Major League Cricket (MLC), the six-team franchise competition which launches on Thursday. He is an experienced administrator who spent eight years working for IMG, predominantly at the IPL, but says of bringing MLC into existence: “This is the hardest thing I’ve done.”
The league has secured over US$120 million of funding and the involvement of four IPL owners or co-owners, plus two Australian states as “high-performance partners”, adds to its credibility. The squad lists for the inaugural season, which runs from July 13 to 30, are stacked. More than 30 IPL players are involved – and will earn up to $175,000 for two-and-a-half weeks’ work.
The three touchpoints for cricket in America
Cricket has hoped to expand its reach in the USA for decades with limited success, but the next five years will present three “touchpoints”, to use Geale’s word: the launch of MLC; the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup, co-hosted by USA and West Indies; and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, which the ICC is actively targeting as part of its plan to “drive targeted growth” in the USA.
“This is where the growth could be,” Geale says. “I think every cricketing nation acknowledges that. And the timing of that World Cup next year is really important. Speaking for everyone, we’re not here to take on MLB [Major League Baseball] or any other sport. But I think the growth progression for the sport is really strong.”
The league is owned privately by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), rather than by USA Cricket, and effectively operates as a start-up. “It’s privately funded by people who see the vision,” Geale says. “There’s a lot of high-profile businessmen who are privately invested.” They have already staged two editions of Minor League Cricket, which is positioned as a developmental league.
“I’ve said it from the very start: if this is going to work in the USA – after so many false starts – then the cricket has to be good,” Geale says. “Our philosophy for MLC was to try and get some of the best players in the world here, and we’re combining that with domestic players who were either born here or have relocated and set up their lives here over the last three years.”
Grand Prairie Stadium was reopened as a cricket venue at a ceremony on Tuesday • Major League Cricket
The venue split and opening-night demand
This year, fixtures will be split between Grand Prairie in Dallas (12 matches) and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina (7 matches); in future, all six franchises plan to have a home stadium, which would enable the league to be played under a full home-and-away format. Geale is hopeful that both venues will be conducive to quality cricket: “We’ve done all we can.”
Will anyone actually watch it? There are plenty of tickets available for most games but the opening night is sold out and Geale says that sales are “tracking a little ahead” of expectations. Major broadcasters around the world will show it, though start times do not lend themselves favourably to viewers in the subcontinent.
“My genuine hope is that in the first couple of days, everyone can see it’s good fun, it has good cricket and we can really drag some more people in,” Geale says. “But we’re really focusing on engaging local leagues here and local people within the Dallas and Houston cricket communities, because that’s the foundation we have to build on.”
Why Pakistan players chose MLC over the IPL
One of the notable features of MLC’s 2023 squad lists was the inclusion of a handful of active Pakistan players in Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and Imad Wasim. “The guys don’t play in the IPL, and there’s all sorts of reasons and politics around that,” Geale says. “Whereas in the USA, we have the opportunity: it’s based on freedom over here.
“We really want to be a league that is open to everyone: if you’re good enough and you want to play, come and play. We’re pretty happy to have the guys here and I think the fans here are too. There’s a huge amount of Pakistan fans over here, and they want to see their heroes. I hope that continues in the future.”
The relationship between MLC and USA Cricket has not always been smooth. There was a delay in MLC obtaining official sanction from the governing body earlier this year, but Geale insists, “It’s in our interests to get along. We are absolutely working together on this.”
The domestic-talent question
MLC has a liberal attitude to the definition of a “domestic player”, with Corey Anderson, Liam Plunkett and Dane Piedt among those classed as locals. But Geale admits, “If this is going to be a sustainable, long-term project then it needs to have American players as well. They need to be part of it.”
USA went winless at the recent men’s ODI World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe, suggesting there is some way to go yet. And with the ICC set to introduce caps on the number of overseas players permitted per XI in franchise leagues, MLC – in which teams can field up to six this year – needs more domestic talent, which it hopes will emerge in the long term if the league is a success.
What does success look like in MLC’s first season? “We’re in for the long haul, and this season is about proving we can do it,” Geale says. Over the next two-and-a-half weeks, it will start to become clear whether or not cricket’s American dream can become a reality.
By the Numbers: MLC’s Launch and What Followed
Geale’s “prove we can do it” pitch can now be measured against three seasons of data. Here is how the league performed against the ambitions he set out in the Dallas interview.
- Inaugural funding: over US$120 million raised privately through American Cricket Enterprises, with four IPL owners or co-owners among the backers.
- Season 1 (July 13-30, 2023): 19 matches at two venues. Grand Prairie Stadium hosted 12, Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina hosted 7. Opening night sold out. MI New York won the first title, per Wikipedia.
- Season 1 attendance: more than 70,000 fans across the two venues, per Front Office Sports.
- Season 3 (2025): 34 matches, up from 19 in Season 1. Ticket sales grew 53% year-on-year. Broadcast reach expanded to 90+ countries. 84% of ticket buyers were first-time MLC attendees, per USA Cricketers.
- Stadium investment: Grand Prairie Stadium was built in 2008 as a baseball venue for the Texas AirHogs. After the AirHogs folded in 2020, American Cricket Enterprises spent more than $20 million on the cricket conversion. Permanent capacity is 7,200, expandable to 15,000, per Wikipedia: Grand Prairie Stadium.
- 2026 outlook: Season 4 runs June 18 to July 18, 2026. Knight Riders Cricket Field at Fairplex in Pomona, California joins the venue list. The championship final moves to the Oakland Coliseum, per Cricket World.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Justin Geale, and what is his role at Major League Cricket?
Justin Geale is the tournament director for Major League Cricket. He is an Australian from Wagga Wagga who spent eight years at IMG working predominantly at the Indian Premier League before taking on the MLC role. He described bringing MLC into existence as “the hardest thing I’ve done” in a July 2023 interview conducted from Dallas ahead of the league’s inaugural match.
How much funding did MLC raise before its first season?
American Cricket Enterprises, the private entity that owns MLC, secured over US$120 million of funding before the 2023 launch. The investor group included four IPL owners or co-owners, and two Australian states came on board as “high-performance partners”. The league is privately funded rather than backed by USA Cricket, and effectively operates as a start-up.
What did Justin Geale define as success for MLC’s first season?
Geale explicitly framed season one as a proof point rather than a financial goal: “We’re in for the long haul, and this season is about proving we can do it.” He wanted the cricket itself to be good, opening-week crowds to turn up, and local Dallas and Houston cricket communities to start engaging with the league on the ground.
Did MLC’s first season meet Geale’s success criteria?
The 2023 inaugural season opened on July 13 at a sold-out Grand Prairie Stadium and drew more than 70,000 fans across two venues, per reporting from Front Office Sports. By Season 3 in 2025 the league had scaled to 34 matches, ticket sales were up 53% year-on-year, and broadcast reach had expanded to 90+ countries, per USA Cricketers. By those measures, Geale’s “prove we can do it” bar was cleared.
How many overseas players can each MLC team field?
In the 2023 inaugural season, each MLC franchise could field up to six overseas players per XI. The ICC has signalled tighter caps on overseas players in franchise leagues globally, which is one reason Geale flagged domestic American talent development as a long-term priority for the league.
Why does MLC need more American-born players?
Geale’s stated view was that MLC cannot be a sustainable long-term project on overseas imports alone. In 2023, MLC’s domestic-player definition was liberal and included relocated professionals like Corey Anderson, Liam Plunkett and Dane Piedt. Geale acknowledged that to make the league durable, American-born and -raised players need to become a meaningful share of the talent pool — a gap that the USA’s winless 2023 ODI World Cup qualifier performance underlined.
Why did active Pakistan players choose MLC over the IPL?
Pakistan internationals including Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and Imad Wasim joined MLC squads in 2023. Geale framed it as a function of US openness: “The guys don’t play in the IPL, and there’s all sorts of reasons and politics around that. Whereas in the USA, we have the opportunity: it’s based on freedom over here.” The league’s stated position was to be open to any player good enough to play, which resonated with a large Pakistan fan base in the Dallas and Houston cricket communities.
How has MLC grown since the 2023 Justin Geale interview?
In the three seasons since, MLC has nearly doubled its match count (19 matches in 2023 to 34 in 2025), added Oakland Coliseum and Central Broward Park in Florida to its venue list, lifted broadcast reach to 90+ countries, and crowned MI New York as its first two-time champion. The 2026 season runs June 18 to July 18, 2026 and adds Knight Riders Cricket Field at Fairplex in Pomona, California, with the championship final at Oakland Coliseum, per Cricket World.