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Your guide to Major League Cricket 2025! We're two cricket fans who happen to think franchise T20 is fun and worth following. This summer, we're following the US-based MLC. Whether you're a brand-new fan or a seasoned pro, or you're just checking things out, we'll open your eyes to the stories and spectacle of a summer of T20. Hosted by Jit Shetty and Toby Amodeo.
Speaker 1
This is major league cricket in 2025. Hello everyone and welcome to T20 to Beat with your co-host Jit Shetty and Toby Amodeo
Toby\
Well welcome back everybody to T20 to Beat. I'm your host Toby Amodeo, and I'm joined by my co-host Jeet Shetty over on the other side of the pond. We have some great action to look back at from this first leg of Major League cricket. We've just wrapped up the Oakland leg of the tournament. There's an off day that we are recording on before all the stars head over to Texas.\
There's been some great action so far in this tournament, some amazing performances by international talent and Americans alike, and we'll get into all of that and more. But first off, Jit, how are you doing today, man? How's it going over there?\
Jit\
Hey Toby, yeah, I'm doing good, man. it's been good fun to, watch the action unfold in Oakland, hasn't it?
Toby
It really has. They've, they've talked a lot about the history of the Oakland Coliseum in the games. our man Aman Patel has been doing his darndest, to bring up, you know, the Oakland A's and the Raiders and the history and how it's a new start. And I think you might be able to say that, it really has been a new start.
It seems like it's been a great environment over there and a great vibe. What's been your maybe your take on, and how it's looked, you know, just crowd wise or excitement wise?\
Jit
Yeah, I think it's been it's been really good. I think the, especially the weekend games, I don't know how you felt, but I thought it was good to see a nice crowd in for those. Those are. It seemed like a really nice, fun atmosphere in the stadium, honestly. And I saw some really beautiful moments in the crowd again on on our Aaman Patel doing some really great interviews, you know, with, young families, the with the, the stadiums, parents that had, children and proms and you just young boys and girls that had come out to watch, whether it had been the unicorns or the other teams that were playing, you know, those I think you got the sense that people were really happy.\
You know, at the end of the day, just to have cricket come over to the part of the world, I think it was enriching. And I guess, I mean, you always want more. I, I guess that there were there were days where you wished maybe there were bigger crowds. but I think that for a first experience with Major League, I would say the it was really lovely and I hope it comes back.\
I, I, I really enjoyed it and I thought the I like the stadium is dude, I thought the I like the kind of, you know, tall sort of grandiose, nature of it. you know, it's vast. It's there's you can I understand now why it's called the Coliseum, if you know what I mean. Just the kind of, dimensions and, like, contortions of it.\
but I thought just as a spectator, I don't know, sometimes, you know, when you watch a game and you sometimes think, oh, if I was, I think I'd actually quite enjoy watching the action live. That was my that was my read of the stadium from my point of view. What did you think about it?\
Toby\
I felt similar, it seemed like a really good atmosphere and a lot, you know, for the fans there. I think they had, yeah, a really good experience set up. It's really strange to see cricket played in a baseball field. I mean, I'm gonna be honest, it's really, really weird to see that, especially when the way that they've kind of set up the pitch, the warning track for the baseball stadium is like part of it.\
And there's also, you know, the, the, the wall and the end of the field. So some of the times when they would hit a six, it would like bounce off the wall and come back in. It was kind of funny to watch. But yeah, I, I can't argue that it looked like an awesome experience and it was fun watching it like the the vibe that I was able to get when we were watching on sling, it seemed like a really good, really good time out there.\
But, we've got a lot to get into today, man. There's been some great performances, there's been some great games. There's bands maybe not so good games. and then there's been some, some exciting performances by, some international stars. So. Yeah. man, wanted to get your thoughts just jumping off, you know, maybe. Let's get right into it.\
What's been a standout moment for you, or who do you think is a player that's made a big impact that stood out in your mind?\
Jit\
What a start. What a way to kick off this, you know, third edition of Major League Cricket by Finn Allen that I hope that that, you know, lays down a marker for, you know, future editions of the league and that would have peaked so many people's interest. I hope so. so I, I know we talk I talked about it last week, but I would just, you know, mention that again just for it's, you know, just for how ridiculous it was.\
but I think going away from that, it's been fantastic to see the USA captain Monarch football do so well. you know, I, I just thought it's great for the league. You know, if you look at the top five run scorers, he's the one name amongst all the, you know, well known international players. And he sits in very, you know, comfortably and very fittingly alongside all those names.\
\'a0\
And he's really impressed again his range of shorts, his power, his audacious ness. I thought it was such a great, again message to all the, you know, homegrown talent on the look. This is where this is where we belong. We belong with the big boys. He was outscoring the likes of Quinton de Kock and Michael Bracewell and making it look really easy.\
\'a0\
Honestly, I think that was refreshing and I thought that that was a real stand out performance. the other standout performance I just wanted to mention was, the 100 by Glenn Maxwell. Man, that was that was wicked. That was just insane. I couldn't believe it. I actually I couldn't believe it because I think someone like Glenn Maxwell is capable of playing such freakish innings.\
\'a0\
He has that in him. I mean, listeners will probably remember him playing that innings against Afghanistan in the World Cup two years ago. called 201 not out on on one leg Australia win the impossible game and and he's played you know innings like that throughout his career. He just does this and it's pretty bad for you know leading up to this he had he's had some shocking IPL seasons last year with the bat and hasn't been you know good or consistent for Australia either.\
\'a0\
And but at the same time it's not a surprise when you know he plays an innings like that and he just leaves jaws dropping. Dude the start that blew my mind was I think he was on 11 or 15 balls. He hadn't had a boundary in his first 15 balls. And then in the next 34 balls he scored 13 sixes.\
\'a0\
I mean.\
Yeah.\
\'a0\
Yeah, I yeah, I'll leave you, I'll leave it that, yeah. I think those are my performances of the week. I just, I mean, words can't do that justice for how miraculous that was. So yeah, those would be my standouts. what were your, moments of the week?\
\'a0\
Toby\
Well, obviously, Maxwell, I think, is somebody that you have to kind of pay attention to whenever he comes out to bat. he's another one of my performances to watch. And what you say there is interesting about he was on 11 off 15 and the freedom were I think there were like 4 or 5 down at this point.\
\'a0\
he'd come out when they were four down, they lost another wicket. So he's out there for 15 balls. And that seems to be the way that you score runs on this pitch is that you get a bit of a slow start, and then you give yourself space to accelerate. I think when I was first getting into cricket, it's a lot different than, than baseball in that you only really have one chance to score runs, and you're either setting a score or you're chasing a score.\
\'a0\
And so I think Maxwell, when he's coming out, and they're, they're in desperate need of runs, like, you could kind of sense at that point in the game, the freedom were really kind of starting to stare in the face, a very low total that they were going to have to then defend. And, that ended up just not being a problem.\
\'a0\
Once Maxwell kind of got in settle themselves and started smacking it, I think it was something similar, honestly, weirdly enough, to somebody like Bracewell for Mumbai, New York. Now he was playing second fiddle to Morning Patel. But Patel with that incredible 93, I was man, I was so I was so sad for him when he got out without reaching that century.\
\'a0\
00;08;32;18 - 00;09;02;10\
Speaker 2\
If anybody deserved 100 in this tournament it was Monank Patel. But Bracewell after Patel got out, Bracewell really turned it on, kind of in classic Kiwi fashion, of knowing how to read a match and knowing when to dial yourself back in anchor and knowing when to say, okay, it's time for me to go on the attack. I mean, yeah, for me, Bracewell, I think, was kind of that unsung, 50 that he brought out in that Mumbai game against the Yorkers.\
\'a0\
00;09;02;16 - 00;09;24;01\
Speaker 2\
I think that was something to watch. But then maybe shifting over to the bowling side for me, a couple of the standouts have been, you know, obviously, Ian Holland taking four for 19. and he's obviously a very new star. And then I think as well, Harris Ralph kind of quietly getting himself up to the top of the, wicket taking column G.\
\'a0\
00;09;24;01 - 00;09;40;27\
Speaker 2\
What's been your thought on the bowling? I think it seems like some teams have struggled to figure out how to score runs, but other teams have struggled to figure out how do we get a wicket, what what's been your impression of the pitch itself and the strategies that teams are using to get guys out?\
\'a0\
00;09;40;29 - 00;10;04;25\
Speaker 1\
It's a mystery. because of the because of the variety of games we've seen. Right? I mean, in the first game, I mean, I was watching the highlights of the first game. You just thought how how a bowler is going to survive, you know, 270 being scored. And then, okay, Washington freedom collapsed pretty quickly. But I think that was more a result of the fact that they were chasing a massive score, and they just got to keep going.\
\'a0\
00;10;04;25 - 00;10;29;17\
Speaker 1\
I mean, at one stage, what were they 80 for 80 for non after about five overs or they're in their boat and then if you contrast that with the other games MI New York have been involved in two really close games or three really good games honestly where it's felt like more of a balance. You know, the first two games where the score hovered around 180 and it felt like more of an even contest between the bar and the ball 100.\
\'a0\
00;10;29;17 - 00;10;59;01\
Speaker 1\
Clawson made a really interesting comment. You know, after the last game, which was, I think, because someone I think it was, Nicole or Tom Chan Dhoni also doing a fantastic job at the tournament. was asking, I think he asked Klaassen about his team selection, because they had the choice in their squad to play, you know, the Afghan Afghani spinner, Waqar, Salim Gill, and they, he, they, they missed him in the side.\
\'a0\
00;10;59;01 - 00;11;19;03\
Speaker 1\
He lost closson, you know, what did you make of it? And you say and Clawson said, well, I think I probably missed a seamer. He, he said that he felt a seamer could have been, you know, a good option on that pitch. And to be honest, I don't know how I feel about that because I mean, obviously horror shroff's been terrific and is the leading wicket taker, but I think I've seen enough evidence so far.\
\'a0\
00;11;19;03 - 00;11;48;23\
Speaker 1\
The spinners have a role to play, you know, on this wicket. I mean, you just saw that yesterday, I think I mean, we've talked about Michael Brosseau with the bat, but jeez I think we should appreciate his role with the ball. I mean, he opened the bowling. The spinner, an off spinner on a ground like Oakland where runs in previous games have been have been flying until you bowled a maiden over six balls and just went for 20 runs in his four overs and took a wicket, in the final.\
\'a0\
00;11;48;23 - 00;12;11;28\
Speaker 1\
In the final analysis, I think that makes a huge difference. So clearly he had a roll. You know, second, the Raza took two wickets yesterday with his off spin. I think Noor hammered just on all the bowlers who have been really impressive. You know Noor has been fantastic. I thought the element of mystique that he brings to the tournament, being a left arm spinner, you know, a mystery bowler, finding ways to get wickets consistently.\
\'a0\
00;12;11;28 - 00;12;34;20\
Speaker 1\
I feel like there has been room for spinners in this tournament. Yes. It's probably I suppose if you look at the wicket taking list, it's probably been dominated by the fast bowlers or, you know, right on medium pace bowlers. but I think the spinners have had a role, in a maybe not so obvious way. I think the it's probably about how you use your resources.\
\'a0\
Speaker 1\
I would say, sorry, I gone off on a tangent there. I would say on the pitch, like, that's what this is what I mean, ultimately, it's how you work with your, you know, work with the resources that you have in your attack. I think the dot then determines how successful you are as a team. So what do you think about the pitch?\
\'a0\
00;12;55;02 - 00;13;20;05\
Speaker 2\
What one thing that that makes me think of, honestly is like, last summer we had the T20 World Cup here in America for the first time, and they had a pitch at, New York. And it was an extremely difficult place to bat. I don't know, maybe for our American listeners, the quality of the pitch in cricket and like, what its makeup is, how hard it is, how much grass is growing on it.\
\'a0\
00;13;20;05 - 00;13;42;04\
Speaker 2\
Are there cracks in the surface because it's this hardened rectangle of earth and grass and just dirt? How that performs really changes how you play the game. It can be more difficult to bat. It could be easier to bat. It could be, you know, giving a lot more opportunity for people who put a lot of pace on the ball.\
\'a0\
00;13;42;04 - 00;14;02;28\
Speaker 2\
Other days it could give more opportunity for spinners. Anyway, that pitch in the 2024 World Cup in New York was notoriously difficult to bat on, but what it ended up doing was something really interesting. It leveled the playing field to such a degree that though in New York most of the time, the what you would say would be the better team one, right?\
\'a0\
00;14;02;28 - 00;14;25;15\
Speaker 2\
Like, you know, India beat the US on that pitch. no one's really surprised the games were a lot closer because it was a more difficult environment to play in. And I'm wondering if there's something similar going on here where it's not the same in that the pitch is doing this. But if the big guns aren't showing up, it kind of levels out.\
\'a0\
00;14;25;15 - 00;14;34;02\
Speaker 2\
Some of the holes in other sides and lets people put their hand up and get a better performance than maybe they otherwise would have if they'd been overshadowed.\
\'a0\
00;14;34;04 - 00;14;58;06\
Speaker 1\
And from what you've seen this tournament, I would say that it's a sign the sometimes I don't even say the lesser known players or mean that what that saying always said about New Zealand. You know that they're greater than the sum of their parts. I feel like I mean, it is obviously a compliment, but I also do think at some point you also look at the team and think they do have some fantastic players, like they shouldn't be seen as less than anybody else.\
\'a0\
00;14;58;08 - 00;15;16;27\
Speaker 1\
And I feel like I was hesitant to say that this time round is all about a team, like, say, the unicorns, because they are sitting, you know, three from three at the minute. And I feel like that's because they've gotten a lot of really great performances out of probably, you know, some of the, as I said, the lesser known stars.\
\'a0\
00;15;16;28 - 00;15;36;11\
Speaker 1\
I mean, Finn Allen is still yet to become a household name in the same way that I know. Suppose a Devon Conway is, or even a Russian river in there, I suppose. You know, I think he's futures down there, a Quinton de Kock, you know, he's still not on that level in general, but he is lit up and been one of, if not the best spot to be.\
\'a0\
00;15;36;11 - 00;15;58;19\
Speaker 1\
He's been the best batter of the California League. and at the same time, you know, Jake Fraser McGurk, who again, we spoke about last week, who had been really inconsistent and had been in poor form and for a long time. They go to dynamic, impactful performance out of him. Some really crucial cameos from Hassan Khan, Xavier Bartlett.\
\'a0\
00;15;58;19 - 00;16;28;02\
Speaker 1\
I mean, that just blew my mind because I didn't really know that Xavier Bartlett was an all rounder. I thought he was an opening bowler and they won that game from the brink, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against, you know, my New York. I do feel that at some point, you know, it's when you see these guys playing as a team, you know, whether it's it's a great chance for both the homegrown American talent as well as probably, you know, some lesser known international names to right, to kind of stake their claim.\
\'a0\
00;16;28;02 - 00;16;45;13\
Speaker 1\
And I think that's a great thing because then, it as you say, it's a level playing field. You cricket is a level, you know, it doesn't matter who you're playing against. I know it's a cliche, but you could be playing a very star studded team. But if they're not, if they're if their players aren't showing up, they're not going to win.\
\'a0\
00;16;45;13 - 00;17;05;14\
Speaker 1\
And I think we've seen that, as you said, with the likes of Clawson, Pooran David Warner has struggled. The reason why I was backing the L.A. Knight Riders was because, a tournament where Sunil Narine and under Russell are in top form is, you know, that is a Knight Riders team to reckon with and watch out for.\
\'a0\
00;17;05;16 - 00;17;24;06\
Speaker 1\
And what has happened, they've had pretty underwhelming starts to the tournament and where all the Knight Riders, they are languishing. So you know, I mean it's kind of putting the pieces of the jigsaw together and making sure that the whole machine is working as one. Right. It's not just the individual part.\
\'a0\
00;17;24;09 - 00;17;46;27\
Speaker 2\
Yeah, yeah. And I think that makes somebody like the unicorns or team like the unicorns, it gives them a huge opportunity because they sort of bet on potential. They didn't stack themselves with big aging, well known stars. Like, I think the stereotype about franchise domestic T20 is like, you bring in some guys who are great, maybe five, three to 5 or 7 years ago.\
\'a0\
00;17;46;29 - 00;18;08;27\
Speaker 2\
and now you just kind of let them play out their careers in T20. Actually with the unicorns seem to have done is better on some guys who have shown a lot of potential or are currently kind of in the peak of their potential and let them run, whereas yeah, man oh man, LA Knight Riders, they based, I think, their whole squad around guys like Sunil Narine and Andre Russell and those guys have done nothing.\
\'a0\
00;18;08;27 - 00;18;33;08\
Speaker 2\
I mean, the last Knight Riders came, the top three batsmen scored zero runs. That's awful. You can't I mean, you're not going to win the game like that. And you're certainly not going to win a tournament like that. So I, yeah, I'm I'm kind of, I don't know, I'm feeling good about this tournament in that it seems to be getting away from the idea of what franchise T20 could be like.\
\'a0\
00;18;33;08 - 00;18;49;23\
Speaker 2\
We've seen maybe in like the Abu Dhabi T10 League, where it's like just a lot of names but maybe not a lot of substance. Whereas here there's opportunities for guys, like you said, some of the younger guys, to show up and show off a little bit, it's it's pretty exciting to see focused on the whole team.\
\'a0\
00;18;49;25 - 00;19;01;23\
Speaker 2\
But this being an American tournament and one of our main priorities is seeing young, domestic talent get a chance to shine. What's been a top US performance for you?\
\'a0\
00;19;01;25 - 00;19;27;05\
Speaker 1\
I'd say Hassan Khan. Honestly, I think Usman Khan has gone under the radar, but I think that his, There's something the all round package have also been very exciting to I think the, the as I said, the cameos see his strike rate. I mean that's that is impact for you. And this is what I mean where you also have to judge someone based on what position they button.\
\'a0\
00;19;27;08 - 00;19;59;08\
Speaker 1\
So for someone like him who's coming in down the order, who isn't going to get as many balls as Finn Allen is or, Fraser McGurk is to impact the innings. But, you know, he's got a strike rate there of 213.95 on his play. Do you know some, you know, blistering you know, cameos down the order to give you know the unicorns you know big you know big totals and totals that have proven enough to defend and at the same time has come in and taken wickets with the ball.\
\'a0\
00;19;59;11 - 00;20;23;15\
Speaker 1\
Yes, you can say, you know, a slightly higher economy rate, but again, he's taking wickets and he's proving an asset. I think that he's probably been I, I hope that he gets the attention that he deserves because I think he's done a, he's done an awesome job and the other one would be, Ian Holland, he's played three matches and taken six wickets, his best being, as you said, four for 19.\
\'a0\
00;20;23;17 - 00;20;44;13\
Speaker 1\
And, you know, an economy rate of six and a half, which given some of the scores we've seen, Oakland, I think that's, you know, fantastic. And for someone and again, not to discredit the score here, but you know, he he is a right he bowls medium pace. So what that tells me is he is really he's a very smart bowler.\
\'a0\
00;20;44;16 - 00;21;08;15\
Speaker 1\
You know, on a pitch like Oakland, he's found ways to be relevant. You know, he's worked with he's worked with the conditions not against them if that makes sense. You know he's found ways to you know probably use he's hit the hard length. Well probably used you know his slower ball to good effect. The bouncer mixed his variations up well when he's needed to and, found a way to get wickets and and at the same time contain batters.\
\'a0\
00;21;08;15 - 00;21;31;25\
Speaker 1\
So I would say, top performance. Morning, Patel. But not far behind would be Hassan Khan for his all around ability. And in Holland and just only in Holland. I think that that's another thing about the League, which is lovely, which is, how great is it to have, you know, someone like Holland who obviously has an Australian background?\
\'a0\
00;21;31;27 - 00;21;47;20\
Speaker 1\
to come and work with a coach is greatness. Legendary? Is Ricky Ponting. I think this is the perfect kind of tutelage and education for these guys. So yeah, those would be my three picks. tell me, which are your three American performances of the week?\
\'a0\
00;21;47;22 - 00;22;14;18\
Speaker 2\
I'm going to have a hard time disagreeing with your picks, I think, for me, yeah, I think Ian Holland has to feature heavily in there. he's got a very strange story entering into cricket, but that fought for 19 that he took is awesome. And just on that I that idea of using the tools that are in his toolbelt, it seems to me that teams that have somebody who can vary their pace are doing really well when it deals with, taking wickets.\
\'a0\
00;22;14;20 - 00;22;37;17\
Speaker 2\
when you have to find a wicket and you maybe don't want to bowl the express because you're getting hit all over the ground or spin just isn't coming off. The guys that are able to bring in the slower ball into the mix are doing real well, and Holland is one of those guys. He's been able to drag that speed back and confuse batsmen, and I think he's done really, really well for himself.\
\'a0\
00;22;37;21 - 00;22;59;29\
Speaker 2\
So he's he's got to be up there for me. I think I have a hard time knocking my Patel off the list for sure. But then the other one I wanted to mention would be somebody like star Netra Volker, playing also for the freedom. you know, he's not taking as many wickets as some of the other folks in this tournament, but he's bowled a couple of really significant maiden overs where he hasn't given up any runs.\
\'a0\
00;23;00;04 - 00;23;26;07\
Speaker 2\
And the, a it's a constant. We talk about a lot in T20 cricket. If you're able to restrict somebody from scoring, for ball after ball after ball, eventually they just get frustrated and try to manufacture something and they end up getting themselves out. So I think that tracker's ability to, yeah, to trap batsmen to prevent giving away any runs, I think he's going to continue to be dangerous in the rest of the tournament.\
\'a0\
00;23;26;07 - 00;23;47;29\
Speaker 2\
I think that that wicket tally is going to start going up. yeah. I think for me, those those three were probably in Holland Patel and then net travel as well. So yeah man. okay. So you know looking ahead a little bit to the next leg, I mean, do they cricket heading down to Texas. Who are we watching out for in this next leg?\
\'a0\
00;23;48;01 - 00;23;57;12\
Speaker 2\
What do you think about, about these teams? How are they looking to you?\
\'a0\
00;23;57;15 - 00;24;22;05\
Speaker 1\
Yeah, back to the headquarters. Are back to where it all began in 2023. This is where milk first took off. it's going to be fun to. Yeah. Return to its roots, I think, I enjoy watching games in Dallas. so, yeah, we've got. And again, it's, Well, different conditions. Right. Toby, I think we're going to see it's a very small it's a smaller ground.\
\'a0\
00;24;22;07 - 00;24;43;24\
Speaker 1\
so we might end up seeing a more a lot more. Well, not a lot more because we've seen quite a lot of boundaries already, but, maybe less. You know, some of these, as I said, some of these low scores we've seen in this opening, like, have kind of been quite shocking, honestly. Like the Yorkers getting bowled up for 60, chasing 150 for against.\
\'a0\
00;24;43;24 - 00;25;02;24\
Speaker 1\
Tsk. It was it was bizarre. It was like how how do even to a lesser extent, the 124 will out by the L.A. Knight Riders against I don't think you will see the in this in this leg at Dallas. I feel like you're going to see high scores throughout. again, it's going to be a challenge for the bowlers.\
\'a0\
00;25;02;26 - 00;25;23;07\
Speaker 1\
How do they how do they restrict the runs? is it going to be harder? Dallas I think that's the question to ask, really. I don't know if for the guys who have played the in the previous two editions, whether they know what to expect and they know the they know the ground dimensions, they know they've sort of, you know, been there, done that.\
\'a0\
00;25;23;07 - 00;25;47;29\
Speaker 1\
They are coming back to a ground. But I'm not sure. I think the I would like to think that the teams that have been poor so far will come back for the sake of the competition, and that we won't just see the teams at the top sort of run away with the lead that they currently have. I think the the LA team, as much as it probably is a team carried by a few outstanding individual players.\
\'a0\
00;25;48;02 - 00;26;15;14\
Speaker 1\
I still think there's too much quality in that team. New Yorkers to remain, winless for much longer. I feel like with players like Clawson, Warner, Hetmyer, Narine, Russell, De la captain, Jason Holder, Rodman, Powell, you know these guys, I just think that it shouldn't it shouldn't carry on. I would like to see those guys and those teams come back into the tournament.\
\'a0\
00;26;15;16 - 00;26;27;06\
Speaker 1\
and I think they will I think they will because I think the teams that are winless right now will, you know, perhaps start to find their footing the more you go forward. what do you think?\
\'a0\
00;26;27;08 - 00;26;47;28\
Speaker 2\
I think I would agree. I think it's going to be very tough to stop the unicorns. They seem to be, they seem to have found a really good combination in their squad. I think they'll probably be looking to do more of the same. But for teams like Mumbai, New York, who just got their first win last night, it seems like maybe they've figured out.\
\'a0\
00;26;47;28 - 00;27;07;21\
Speaker 2\
What does it feel like to win? What does it feel like to play as a team? They had some longer partnerships. I wouldn't count them out for too long. But I do think that the orcas, the Mumbai Indians, New York, however, we see their team and the LA Knight Riders, they've got to do a lot of soul searching on these plane rides that they have coming up.\
\'a0\
00;27;07;24 - 00;27;28;14\
Speaker 2\
I'm interested to see in Texas if the trend of, bat first and win continues, because unlike what we've been seeing in the IPL for the last years, the last few years, where chasing, seems to be something that teams are more comfortable with in this edition of Major League Cricket, people seem much more comfortable setting a score and are struggling chasing.\
\'a0\
00;27;28;17 - 00;27;57;07\
Speaker 2\
I don't think that will continue going into Texas. Being is that there have been more games played there. It's a little bit clearer of what to expect. I think, yeah, I think that'll change, but who knows. It's possible that it that it really doesn't. but I yeah, I, I don't know, man. I'm, I think I'm, I'm struggling to see, how you're going to beat the unicorn as they're in the form that they're in right now.\
\'a0\
00;27;57;09 - 00;28;27;07\
Speaker 2\
I think they've got a lot of momentum coming, you know, in a couple in a narrow win that's going to help. So yeah, I, I don't know man. like you say Texas Super Kings going to their home ground. They're doing really, really well as well in the tournament I think. Watch some fireworks from them. And then I, I definitely think that something has to click for the orc because there's just too many names in that squad and there's too good of coaching on that side to let that team not perform.\
\'a0\
00;28;27;13 - 00;28;30;28\
Speaker 2\
They've got a lot of ground to make up on, though.\
\'a0\
00;28;31;00 - 00;28;49;06\
Speaker 1\
Definitely, definitely, I don't know. Ian Bell is one of the coaches and I mean, again, quality people in the backroom staff, whether it's Ian Bell, Matthew Mott to of course was he's a World Cup winning coach with England. yeah. They need to they've got some work to do. and do I did miss I missed them earlier.\
\'a0\
00;28;49;06 - 00;29;11;06\
Speaker 1\
You I'm glad you touched on them. I think you know New York as well for the talent that's in their team. They shouldn't be they shouldn't be in the bottom half of the table. No way. They should be somewhere in the top. I mean, I guess at this stage they're still in the top four. So, I mean, if if it was two and now they would qualify.\
\'a0\
00;29;11;06 - 00;29;33;19\
Speaker 1\
But I still think that they're a way better team than that. You know, again, just looking at, you know, who's in their side. You know Quinton de Kock you know Pooran Bracewell Kieron Pollard Trent Boult. Now we know how Malang Patel that is. That's a star studded team that's probably across the board. Our star started a team as you could hope for probably in the league.\
\'a0\
00;29;33;21 - 00;29;49;08\
Speaker 1\
and yes they did lose two close games. But yeah, you'd expect you'd expect a bit more from them. So yeah, I think that they have got some ground to cover when we, when we move east to Texas.\
\'a0\
00;29;49;10 - 00;30;09;08\
Speaker 2\
Yeah, yeah. And I'm excited for this leg, especially because I'm, I'm attending some of these games. I will be there, late, late next week. So I'm excited about that. Going out to Texas to see some family and going to drag the in-laws to a, a couple of cricket matches. We talked them into a doubleheader, so we'll see.\
\'a0\
00;30;09;10 - 00;30;30;12\
Speaker 2\
we'll see how that goes. I think, the first game, they're going to have to like, learn what cricket is. And then the second game, they might actually enjoy it, but, yeah, I think Texas is going to be fun. That stadium does seem to be a great place to watch a game. It's designed to be a friendly environment and a good spot for a, how do we say this?\
\'a0\
00;30;30;15 - 00;31;01;04\
Speaker 2\
It's a good spot for like, the right size crowd for Major League cricket, where it is right now. I think it'll feel fuller, and I think it's going to be really exciting. So, I think that's going to do it for us. As we look ahead to this next leg, we hope you'll continue to, watch and enjoy some highlights or watch live if you've got sling or another, provider to get you the games, you can find us at T20 to beat on Instagram and on X, you can also DM, G and I will put our, all of our handles in the show notes and all that kind of stuff.\
\'a0\
00;31;01;11 - 00;31;19;21\
Speaker 2\
If you've got questions, comments, or ideas, stuff that you'd wish that we'd covered or you want to hear about next, you can send us a message. We're always open to that sort of thing, but otherwise we will see you, in Texas and we'll maybe have a little report from the ground as, as we get going with this next leg.\
\'a0\
00;31;19;21 - 00;31;20;20\
Speaker 2\
Take care.\
\'a0\
00;31;20;23 - 00;31;24;15\
Speaker 1\
Thank you. Thanks, Toby. Enjoy the match next week.\
\'a0\
00;31;24;17 - 00;31;26;18\
Speaker 2\
Heck, yeah, man, I'll, I'll talk to you soon, Jim.\
\'a0\
}