The opening match of the Major League Cricket season is a repeat of the 2024 final when the San Francisco Unicorns and the Washington Freedom get the MLC 2025 campaign underway at a new venue for the event in Oakland.
Washington got the better of San Francisco in the final at the end of last season and it will be interesting to see if that result is repeated here or whether a bit more of a home advantage for the Unicorns allows them to get revenge.
San Francisco Unicorns
This feels like a big season for the San Francisco Unicorns. Ahead of last season they made some big signings for a lot of money which they will hope delivers the title in the not too distant future. Add in the fact that they play 30% of their matches at home this season and there is even more expectation on their shoulders and it will be interesting to see how they handle that. They need to come out of the blocks fast and take advantage of these matches in Oakland.
This is a San Francisco side that looks very nicely balanced. They have plenty of firepower at the top of the batting order and at the end of the innings and a bowling unit which should keep coming at teams. If you was being picky you could question if they have enough spin options for later in the competition but we’ve seen the drop in wickets in America often do a fair bit for the seamers and if that is the case here then the Unicorns have that department more than covered.
Washington Freedom
The Washington Freedom were head and shoulders above anything in this competition last season and the task for them will be to get to that level as quickly as possible once again. That won’t be easy though because they are without some big players from last term so the replacements are going to need to hit the ground running. The good thing for the Freedom considering the turnover of player they have had to embark on is that there are three extra matches in the league phase this year so there is a bit more wiggle room.
Last season the Freedom took teams apart with the bat from the start of the innings but there is no Travis Head to get into the bowling this time around. They don’t lack for firepower through the side though if the players who are new to the competition can bed in immediately. Where Washington were streets clear of the field in this last season is with the ball. They have the best home bowler in their ranks and a decent support cast around him.
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Key Players
Finn Allen was around for the San Francisco Unicorns last season and they will be hoping that the New Zealand opener can get cracking with the bat right from the start of the competition and get them ahead of the game.
Mitchell Owen arrives for his debut Major League Cricket season with a huge reputation after blasting it everywhere in the Big Bash at the beginning of the year. He will be assigned the Travis Head role of going big from the start.
Betting
It is never easy to bet on the opening match of a competition because we don’t know exactly who is around and how the teams are going to line up but we do know that the domestic players will be in position and that leads me to taking the Washington Freedom here. They do have one or two questions around whether Mitch Owen will be able to perform like Travis Head did and whether Glenn Phillips can play the Steve Smith role but if they can they have the bowlers to do some damage.
San Francisco will definitely be without Romario Shepherd which might impact them towards the end of their batting innings and he will probably be someone used at key times with the ball too. I think from what we can expect of the two teams Washington will be the stronger just on the quality of the home players. They won two of the three meetings between the pair last season and I think the 10/11 on them winning here is about the best of the bets for this opening game.
Tips
Back Washington Freedom to beat San Francisco Unicorns for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Boylesports
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