Matthew Wade, Moises Henriques, and Adam Zampa are the latest Australian cricketers to secure a spot in the inaugural edition of the United States T20 tournament. Henriques will assume the role of captain for the Washington Freedom franchise, leveraging his leadership experience from guiding the Big Bash League franchise, the Sixers, to consecutive titles in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Joining him may be two more teammates from the BBL: opening batter Josh Philippe and fast bowler Ben Dwarshuis, who are rumored to be associated with the Washington franchise for the tournament scheduled in July.
Meanwhile, Australia’s accomplished white-ball spinner, Adam Zampa, is set to join the Los Angeles Knight Riders, a franchise owned by the Kolkata Knight Riders. Additionally, Matthew Wade has signed with an MLC club.
Recently, Zampa and Wade played for the Gujarat Titans and the Rajasthan Royals, respectively, in the Indian Premier League. Zampa has impressed with eight wickets in six matches for the Royals, while Wade has faced challenges in securing a place in the playing XI for the defending champions. Former Indian wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has kept him out of the side for a significant portion of the season.
Among the six MLC franchises, Washington has announced the most overseas signings, with Henriques joining the likes of South Africans Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen, New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips and Adam Milne, as well as Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.
Michael Klinger, CNSW Head of Male Elite Cricket and head of the Washington Freedom’s high-performance program, expressed pleasant surprise regarding the quality of players in the United States. In an interview with cricket.com.au, Klinger expressed his confidence in the talent of the players involved in the subcontinent, many of whom have played international cricket or participated in IPL or PSL franchises. He noted that some players had left first-class systems in the subcontinent and South Africa for various reasons. Despite this, Klinger had a positive outlook on the quality of the players and their ability to compete against high-quality overseas players.
