Mitchell Owen's Five-Wicket Haul Dethrones Unicorns as Freedom Secure Thrilling MLC 2025 Victory

Thursday - 17/07/2025 06:21
Mitchell Owen’s stunning 5 for 17 ended San Francisco Unicorns’ unbeaten MLC 2025 run as Washington Freedom secured a 12-run win. Matthew Short’s 67 wasn’t enough after a middle-order collapse. Earlier, Glenn Phillips’ 58 lifted Freedom from 13 for 3 to 170. Both teams now have six wins each.

Washington Freedom Stuns San Francisco Unicorns, Powered by Mitchell Owen's Brilliance

Mitchell Owen celebrates a crucial wicket for Washington Freedom
Mitchell Owen of Washington Freedom celebrates getting the wicket of Brody Couch of San Francisco Unicorns during match 19 of the Cognizant Major League Cricket season 3 between Washington Freedom and San Francisco Unicorns held at the Grand Prairie cricket stadium, Grand Prairie, United States of America (USA). (Sportzpics)

The San Francisco Unicorns' previously unblemished record in MLC 2025 met its end on Saturday, despite the team maintaining its position atop the league standings, primarily due to a superior net run rate. Mitchell Owen's exceptional performance, highlighted by a five-wicket haul, propelled Washington Freedom to a thrilling 12-run victory in Dallas.

Unicorns captain Matthew Short continued his impressive batting form as his team pursued a target of 170, a score that seemed attainable considering recent high-scoring matches. Despite limited support from Finn Allen and Jake Fraser-McGurk, the Unicorns managed to reach 52 for 1 during the powerplay.

Short eventually found support from Sanjay Krishnamurthi, but following Short's dismissal in the 11th over for a dominant 67, with the team's total at 97, the chase rapidly deteriorated. With only 73 runs needed, the Unicorns' middle order appeared to be in a commanding position.

That's when Owen seized control. He dismissed Short in his opening over and then claimed the wickets of Hassan Khan and Romario Shepherd in consecutive balls shortly after. Assisted by wickets taken by Jack Edwards and Ian Holland, the Unicorns collapsed to 113 for 7 by the 16th over.

Owen returned in the 19th over to dismiss tailenders Haris Rauf and Brody Couch, concluding with remarkable figures of 5 for 17.

With 27 runs required in the final over, Jahmar Hamilton fought hard, remaining unbeaten with 31 runs from 18 balls. However, Saurabh Netravalkar held his composure, conceding only 14 runs to secure the victory.

Earlier, after electing to bat, the Freedom found themselves in trouble at 13 for 3 within the first three overs, due to an aggressive opening spell by Xavier Bartlett, who dismissed Owen (first ball), Rachin Ravindra, and Andries Gous.

Glenn Maxwell fell cheaply, but Jack Edwards and Glenn Phillips stabilized the innings with a 71-run partnership spanning 64 balls. Phillips then accelerated the scoring during a 31-run partnership in just 12 balls with Obus Pienaar. After Phillips was dismissed for a 39-ball 58, Pienaar concluded the innings with an unbeaten 37 off 16 balls, alongside Mukhtar Ahmed.

Major League Cricket 2025 Explained: Teams, Schedule & Where to Watch

Both teams now have six wins in seven matches, though the Unicorns hold a significant net run rate advantage – 2.016 compared to Washington's 0.603.

Brief Scores:

Washington Freedom: 169/6 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 58, Jack Edwards 42, Obus Pienaar 30*; Xavier Bartlett 32/4, Romario Shepherd 28/1)

San Francisco Unicorns: 157/9 in 20 overs (Matthew Short 67, Jahmar Hamilton 31*, Sanjay Krishnamurthi 24; Mitchell Owen 17/5, Ian Holland 23/1, Amila Aponso 23/1)

Total notes of this article: 0 in 0 rating

Click on stars to rate this article
You did not use the site, Click here to remain logged. Timeout: 60 second