Texas storms: Cricket match abandoned in the Metroplex. NFL & MLB teams pledge relief support for CenTex flooding.
Also, we must discuss how cricket made it to our shores and how the Michi discovered this great sport.
First, a note from the Michi: This was a very difficult story to write as these two situations do somewhat intertwine with each other and I try to keep spacing between articles whenever appropriate.
The abandonment of a cricket match is no big deal. It is just a cricket match. But, the destruction and loss of life in Central Texas, this is something that we can’t just ignore. I felt it was appropriate to write about both in a single article.
My heart goes out to those families who have been directly impacted by this disaster and my love goes out to the NFL and MLB teams that are stepping up to do their part in the relief efforts.
Major League Cricket was to hold the first of two “qualifier” matches in Grand Prairie, Texas last night, only to have the game “washed out”. That is cricket-speak for what we would call in baseball a “rained out game”.
But first, some backstory on how this OG derby nerd discovered cricket
During my derby days, if you were to mention the sport of cricket to me, I would have answered back with only a very very blank stare. Over the years, I had always been a little intimidated by the sport I think like others who have been raised in a non-cricket nation, especially with cricket formats such as test match, which can go on for days.
This changed a few years ago during “The Crud” when I discovered the “T-20” format, which was designed to be played in one evening. With that, I learned about the game. Watching match highlight videos from Australia’s Big Bash League as well as those by others, such as this one from Jomboy Media helped increase my understanding of the game and peaked my interest to take this sport seriously. I mean, next to (what we call) soccer, cricket is one of the world’s most played sports.
After “The Crud”, cricket starts to take a foothold in the USA
In 2024, just after Major League Cricket started in the US (which we will discuss in a bit), the International Cricket Commission held the Men’s T-20 World Cup in North America which included venues in the United States such as a temporary stadium that was set up just outside of New York City and in Grand Prairie, Texas, the main permanent cricket stadium that is the home of Major League Cricket (MLC).
MLC is currently in their third season and has already played matches Grand Prairie, as well as at the Oakland Coliseum and in Broward County, Florida. In the United States, a significant amount of cricket fans are from the South Asian diaspora, especially from India where the Indian Premier League (IPL) is considered the crown jewel of all professional T-20 cricket.
MLC has six franchise teams, the Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings and Washington Freedom. Like with franchise sports in the USA, each of these six teams is individually owned, many are backed by Indian interests, which also own teams in other cricket leagues worldwide. Team names such as the Knight Riders and Super Kings are used in the IPL and in other teams worldwide. The “MI” in MI New York stands for the Mumbai Indians, a team in the IPL. It’s important to note that at this time, even though the teams are associated with cities, it does not mean that they actually play in those cities right now. All of the matches are centralized in the existing venues. The game right now is only drawing crowd sizes in the 4-figures. However, there were a couple of larger crowds (still in the 4-figures) in Oakland when the Unicorns played at the former home of the A’s.
Cricket is played very differently than other sports that we are used to in the United States. There are no 4+ month “seasons” like we are used to with the big-four sports. Instead, the game is played in a elongated tournament format that can go over a period of about 40 days in a year. MLC started the 2025 season on June 12 and holds 34 matches ending on July 13. Last night would have started what we call in America, the “playoffs” for MLC.
Now, let’s fast forward to last night
The state of Texas, especially the central part of the state, has been ravaged by torrential rain and flash flooding. In Kerr County, located northwest of San Antonio, flash flooding on the Guadalupe River has caused extensive damage and resulting in the loss of at least 110 lives. This death toll includes many young people attending various camps along the river including Camp Mystic, a camp used by Girl Scouts.
Grand Prairie is pretty far away from Kerr County. It is actually located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Last night, a major thunderstorm came through the region dropping a significant amount of rain.
On Tuesday night, MLC was holding their first challenger match between the Washington Freedom and the Texas Super Kings with the winner going to the championship match.
Dangerously close lightning strikes prompted MLC officials to inform fans to seek shelter.
Freelance cricket journalist Peter Della Penna captured this photo from inside of the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium showing an area along the boundary with substantial flooding:
Peter Della Penna is a freelance journalist who travels the world to cover cricket. He very informative, especially on the subject of cricket in the United States. If the cricket bug finally bites you, I strongly suggest following him on Facebook.
The MLC would eventually abandon (cancel) the match. In international cricket rules, rain delays are handled very differently than what we would normally experience in US sports. In cricket, there’s normally a time limit on how long a rain delay can go and in cases where the field could be made ready, it may result in a shortened match and then a math formula is used to create a final score as it was a full T-20 match. In cases where the match is fully abandoned, it is not “made up”. Instead, there are rules that will declare a winner of the match and the tournament moves on to the next match.
In the case of last night, the MLC announced that because the Washington Freedom held a superior position on the points table during the group stage, they qualify as a finalist for the championship match that will be played in Grand Prairie on July 13. Tonight (July 9), the San Francisco Unicorns will play MI New York. The winner of tonight’s match will take on the Texas Super Kings on July 11. The winner of the July 11 match will face the Washington Freedom in the July 13 championship match.
How to watch cricket in the USA
A look at YouTube will provide you with an abundance of cricket matches from around the world. This includes matches from the US-based Minor League Cricket, which can be found on the MLC YouTube channel. The major leagues, such as MLC, Big Bash League, IPL and the UK Vitality Blast Series are available through the subscription service Willow TV. Willow also operates Willow Sports, a free to air streaming channel which is chock full of cricket content, including recent and classic matches from around the world.
This Michi loves cricket, especially the T-20 format. If you enjoy and understand baseball, you may enjoy cricket, especially if you love a baseball game with a lot of homers.
Sports respond to the Texas flooding
On their Facebook page, MLC is encouraging their fans to donate directly to the Community Foundation of Texas Hill Country. The NFL Foundation, the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans have combined to donate $1.5 million towards central Texas communities impacted by flooding. The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros are each, pledging $1 million in relief. The flooding is having direct tragic impacts on family members throughout the major sports community. This includes the brother of former San Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Walker and the 9-year-old niece of Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, who was among one of the confirmed dead from Camp Mystic.
The Michi also recommends a donation to The Y’all Squad. Started by weather content creator Ryan Hall, The Y’all Squad is a §501(c)(3) nonprofit that purchases supplies and travels right into the affected areas to distribute needed food and supplies to those directly impacted by natural disasters, especially tornadoes. Their efforts have been documented and noted.