Major League Cricket 'not a threat' to Hundred now
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."The reality is we'll be playing under lights at night in the US, so we're not really competing against the English product for English cricket fans."
MLC cool interest in English players
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."But I think certainly for players who want to look at opportunities abroad, then, I think MLC is a hugely exciting platform for them."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
4 minutes ago
- The Independent
California utility creates fund for victims of January's deadly Eaton Fire near LA
Southern California Edison announced this week that it will create a fund to compensate victims of January's devastating Eaton Fire near Los Angeles. Investigators haven't yet determined a cause for the blaze that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and other structures in Altadena. The creation of the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program seems to suggest that the utility is prepared to acknowledge what several lawsuits claim: that its equipmentsparked the conflagration. 'Even though the details of how the Eaton Fire started are still being evaluated, SCE will offer an expedited process to pay and resolve claims fairly and promptly,' Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, the utility's parent company, said in a statement Wednesday. 'This allows the community to focus more on recovery instead of lengthy, expensive litigation.' It is not clear how much money the utility will contribute to the fund, but a lawsuit filed by Los Angeles County in March claims that costs and damage estimates were expected to total hundreds of millions of dollars. SCE said the compensation program, which will go into effect this fall, would be open to those who lost homes, rental properties or businesses. It would also cover those who suffered injuries, were harmed by smoke or had family members who were killed. The plan is being created by administrators who helped form similar programs, including the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. LA County previously won more than $64 million in a settlement with Southern California Edison over the 2018 Woolsey Fire. Investigators determined SCE's equipment sparked that blaze, and the utility also paid more than $2 billion to settle related insurance claims. Utility equipment has sparked some of the deadliest and most destructive fires in state history in recent years. Investigators are also working to determine the cause of the Palisades Fire, which broke out shortly before the Eaton Fire and killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures in Los Angeles.
The Independent
4 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump promised to back Detroit automakers - his deal with Japan has them shaking in their boots
General Motors, Ford and Stellantis - the big three U.S. automakers - pushed back against the Trump administration after President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan that would lower tariffs on vehicles made overseas and hurt the American car companies. Earlier this week, the president said he had signed the 'largest' trade deal in history with Japan, which would include a 15 percent tariff on imported cars – significantly lower than the 25 percent tariff on other imported vehicles. Trump announced the 25 percent tariff on cars made overseas earlier this year, and many of Detroit's companies manufacture cars in Mexico and Canada, which would make them subject to the 25 percent tariff. Higher tariffs likely mean higher costs for consumers, which could lead people to turn to the cheaper Japan-made models. 'Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than the tariff imposed on North American built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers,' Matt Blunt, the head of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents the big three Detroit auotmakers, said in a statement. Blunt said American Automakers were still reviewing the terms of the agreement. During the campaign, Trump visited Detroit and touted the American car industry, promising to 'revolutionize' it. However, shortly after taking the White House, he quickly imposed tariffs on all cars made overseas. General Motors warned just this week that it expects a $4 to $5 billion impact from Trump's tariffs. Auto Drive America, a group that represents U.S. operations of foreign vehicle makers, praised the Japan deal while also calling for Trump to reach similar agreements with the European Union, South Korea, Canada and Mexico. 'We share President Trump's vision to make the U.S. the worldwide center of automotive production, and our member companies need stability in order to create an environment where we can maintain our competitive edge both in the U.S. and on the global stage,' Auto Drive America said. While the deal with Japan will impose lower tariffs, Trump said it will also open market access to the U.S. U.S. auto manufacturers have long struggled to infiltrate the Japanese market, in part because smaller cars that drive on the left side of the road are in much more demand – the type that the U.S. does not typically make. Kush Desai, a spokesperson for the White House, said, 'No president has taken a greater interest in restoring the American auto industry's dominance than President Trump, and his Administration is working closely with the auto industry to achieve this goal.' 'President Trump's trade agenda has already secured historic market access to Japan and Indonesia for Made in America cars with more America First trade deals to come,' Desai added. 'The Administration's domestic policy agenda – from rapid deregulation to the pro-growth tax cuts of The One Big Beautiful Bill – will further boost our auto industry's competitiveness on the world stage and Make American Automakers Great Again.' Hoping to stimulate U.S. manufacturing, the president imposed lofty automotive tariffs earlier this year. Automakers initially raised concerns with the 25 percent tariff in addition to other levies such as those on steel and aluminum. After, Trump offered U.S. automakers some relief through a complicated discount program. Two of the big three Detroit automakers appear to have suffered setbacks. General Motors said Tuesday its second-quarter earnings plummeted 35 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. It also reported a $1 billion loss in second-quarter profits. Stellantis, which makes Chryslers, Jeeps, and more, said it expects to see nearly $350 million in losses in the first two quarters of the year, in part due to tariffs. Around 60 percent of car parts are imported, even if the car is finally assembled in the U.S. Every single 2025 model car sold in the U.S. had at least 15 percent of its parts from a country outside of North America. Trump has threatened to hike tariffs on the U.S.'s largest trading partners, Mexico and Canada, to 30 and 35 percent, respectively.
The Independent
4 minutes ago
- The Independent
Former Manny Pacquiao opponent reveals major factor that can help him stun Mario Barrios
Chris Algieri, who fought Manny Pacquiao in 2014, believes the Filipino's power gives him a puncher's chance against Mario Barrios on Saturday. The former super-lightweight champion told FightHype that Pacquiao will not be the same fighter as he was all those years ago. Age waits for no man, but Pacquiao's power will allow him to remain competitive against Barrios. Algieri said: 'Father time is undefeated, and I can't expect Manny to be the guy he was when I fought him 11 years ago or the guy who fought Marquez the second time 15 years ago. He's going to be a different fighter. He continued: 'The factor that Manny Pacquiao can punch makes him able to fight a little bit longer. You see the guys that go on a little longer, it's usually the guys that can punch. You have that power, that eraser like George Foreman did in his 40s.' Drawing a comparison to Bernard Hopkins, Algieri said that Pacquiao would not be able to replicate how Hopkins adapted his game to his age and instead that his only asset in the fight will be his power. Algieri explained: 'A guy like Bernard Hopkins, who is super scrappy, who learned how to fight in spots and control the ring. Manny's not that guy. He's more of a puncher guy. He has an opportunity because of his power.' Against a fighter like Barrios, however, this may be exactly what Pacquiao needs to upset the odds and become the WBC welterweight champion at 46. Algieri believes that Barrios is often too easy to catch with a shot because he likes to engage his opponents up close, which can leave him vulnerable. Algieri said: 'Barrios is a warrior - he likes to engage. He's going to be there to hit at times, so it does give Manny more of a chance.' He concluded: 'But in terms of age, it does concern me.' Watch Usyk versus Dubois 2 live and exclusive on DAZN PPV this Saturday - July 19 - for £24.99 UK; $59.99 US; $19.99/equivalent ROW. Buy the PPV now here
