Major League Cricket ‘not a threat’ to Hundred now

Major League Cricket (MLC) chief executive Johnny Grave says the tournament should not be seen as a danger to The Hundred any more.

The third edition of the United States’ franchise league starts on Friday at 02:00 BST when defending champions Washington Freedom face San Francisco Unicorns.

MLC’s emergence caused some uneasiness in English cricket with fears a clash with The Hundred would create a scramble for the best English and overseas players.

However, relations between the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and MLC have improved with both parties keen to work together so the tournaments do not overlap where possible.

A number of American investors – including some with interests in MLC – are in the process of finalising deals to acquire stakes in franchise in The Hundred following the ECB sale earlier this year.

“The likes of England and Australia and India have had complete monopolies and global dominance,” Grave told BBC Sport.

“There’s always a bit of emotional threat from anything that’s new that could destabilise what’s been before.

Washington Freedom will have Steve Smith, currently playing for Australia in the World Test Championship final against South Africa, available for two games of MLC.

Later in the summer Smith will hook up with Welsh Fire for a stint in The Hundred.

Freedom are owned by American-Indian IT entrepreneur Sanjay Govil, who also agreed a deal to buy a 50% stake in Fire.

Grave attended an informal meeting of global franchise owners at Lord’s last week and is optimistic of an ongoing spirit of cooperation.

“I’m certainly philosophical around the need to coexist,” said Englishman Grave, who previously held senior positions at Surrey and the Professional Cricketers’ Association.

“Particularly with The Hundred and the Caribbean Premier League that exist closely to the window that we currently are in.

“MLC is really only interested in developing a home audience. We need to build a fan base in the United States.

World Cup winner Liam Plunkett, who is married to an American and lives in Pennsylvania, will be the sole English representative in this year’s tournament.

When MLC launched senior figures expressed a desire to lure some of England’s top players to the tournament in the future, including Harry Brook and Ben Stokes.

Grave acknowledged MLC’s franchises appear to have cooled on that idea.

“I don’t think English players will be something that our teams are necessarily targeting,” Grave added.

“They would be competing against the opportunities that exist for English players in their home market for them to stay at home and play in front of their friends and families.