Steve Smith set to play in US T20 league in 2024

Major League Cricket got under way in Texas on Friday with a swag of big-name stars, and the list could include an Australian Test hero next season.

Australian Test star Steve Smith is poised to add more star power to the fledgling US Major League Cricket tournament as early as next year.

NSW teammate and captain of the Washington Freedom MCL franchise Moises Henriques says Smith is eager to link up with the side in the 2024 edition of the tournament, which is slated to run immediately after the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and US.

Smith, 34, would be able to play in the competition regardless of if he continues to play in all three formats for Australia, with no international tours scheduled during the window.

After a stunning BBL cameo in January when he plundered two centuries in five innings opening the batting for the Sixers, Smith is likely to be an important cog of Australia’s World Cup plans at the top of the order.

Smith struck a deal this week to become a brand ambassador for the Washington franchise, which has a “high-performance” partnership with Cricket NSW and boasts Sydney Sixers coach Greg Shipperd as well as Henriques, Ben Dwarshuis and Tanveer Sangha.

“I think he’s pretty keen to get over here next season, we’ve already been chatting a little bit,” Henriques said.

Steve Smith was unstoppable for the Sixers in the BBL. Picture: James Worsfold/Getty Images

“He loves his time in the US anyway, whether he’s playing cricket or not. He loved his time in Canada when we were playing cricket there together, and I know he jumped at the opportunity to get involved in this even though he couldn’t be here physically because of the Ashes.

“I’m pretty sure next year the T20 World Cup almost leads straight into this competition, so he’ll already be here anyway, assuming selection in those.”

The MCL’s inaugural season began on Friday, with Adam Zampa’s Los Angeles Knight Riders falling to the Texas Super King by 69 runs at a sold-out Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.

Dozens of the world’s best T20 cricketers are in the US for the tournament, in which four of the six sides are affiliates of IPL sides.

Former Australian opener Aaron Finch will captain the Victoria-linked San Francisco Unicorns, with Henriques saying a test of the competition’s impact in the US market will be whether it can start producing American talent who can one day lead their sides.

Look at Adam Zampa's getup for the first MLC game. Speed dealers and the 420 on the back. I love this man pic.twitter.com/NSJMsCXcmj

— Ethan (@ethanmeldrum_) July 14, 2023

The franchises are limited to fielding six international players, but the domestic player pool largely consists of former internationals, including New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson and South African spinner Dane Piedt.

“At this stage a lot of the domestic players have only recently moved to the US from other cricket-playing nations, so there’s still probably not a whole heap of homegrown talent, so to speak,” Henriques said.

“I think that will be the real feather in the cap when those domestic players have been here for a long time and who knows, maybe in 10 or 15 years’ time we’re going to hear a captain in the IPL speak with an American accent rather than six captains in the USA league all with foreign accents.”