The 2026 Washington Freedom season was the fourth season of the Washington Freedom franchise in Major League Cricket (MLC). The team was captained by Steven Smith, who returned from an injury and international commitments, and coached by Ricky Ponting.
The first half of the tournament was a mixed bag overall for the Freedom, marked by a loss-win trend; in their season opener against Seattle in Dallas, an Ottneil Baartman 4-fer set up a 5-wicket loss, while a day later Mitchell Owen's record-breaking 155 delivered their first win of the season against New York. The pattern held as Jessy Singh's 5-fer handed the Freedom a crushing 88-run defeat to Seattle before a last-ball six by Nikhil Chaudhary capped off a thrilling win over Texas. The Freedom ended its Oakland leg and reached the tournament's halfway stage with a battering 8-wicket defeat to San Francisco, set up by Lhuan-dre Pretorius' 26-ball 66. Heading into the Pomona leg of the tournament, the Freedom maintained a 2–3 record, placing outside of the top four.
The second half of the tournament was dominant; the Freedom went 4–1 in their five remaining games. By routing Los Angeles by six wickets and overcoming San Francisco by five, the team snapped their loss-win trend and soared to the top of the table. Barring an 18-run loss in a rematch to Los Angeles, the Freedom won their next two games against Texas and New York by three and five wickets, clinching a third-place group stage finish and a playoff spot for the fourth year running. In their first eliminator game, Andries Gous' 132 and Smith's 110* led the Freedom to triumph in a record-breaking chase of 267, driving the team's rally into the challenger match, where Gous' 73 propelled the Freedom past San Francisco into the final for the third straight time. At the final, the Freedom were beat out narrowly by one run as Shadley van Schalkwyk held on, three wickets falling in the final over.
Background Ahead of the start of the season, the Freedom retained the core of their squad from the previous seasons, including Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Rachin Ravindra, Lockie Ferguson, Jack Edwards, Mitchell Owen and Mark Chapman. The team also retained several domestic players such as Andries Gous, Saurabh Netravalkar, and Ian Holland. The team added overseas signings Ben Dwarshuis and Nikhil Chaudhary, replacing players amongst the like of Justin Dill and Glenn Phillips.
The Freedom began their season with a 5-wicket loss to Seattle a 30-runs win over New York – courtesy of Mitchell Owen smashed 155 the highest score in MLC history. a 88-run loss to Seattlea 1-wicket win over Texas a 8-wicket loss to San Francisco a 6-wicket win over Los Angeles a 5-wicket over San Francisco a 18-run defeat over Los Angeles a 3-wicket win over Texas a 5-wicket win over New York After shooting up to a 3rd-place group stage finish heading into the playoffs, in the Eliminator a 6-wicket win over New York — courtesy of Freedom smashed 270/4, recorded biggest run chase in T20 history. in the Challenger a 7-run win over San Francisco — Freedom made their third straight final in MLC Freedom recorded back-to-back victories against New York and San Francisco in the Eliminator and Challenger matches, respectively, to go to the finals, in the Final a 1-run defeat over Los Angeles — Freedom ultimately were downed by 1 runs in a last-ball thriller, providing Los Angeles with their first MLC championship.
Squad
Players with international caps are listed in bold. +Washington Freedom 2026NameDate of BirthBatting StyleBowling StyleYear signedNotesBattersSteve Smith Right-handed Right-arm leg spin 2024 Direct signingMark ChapmanLeft-handedSlow left-arm orthodox2025Direct signingJack Edwards Right-handed 2024Direct signingMukhtar Ahmed Right-handed Right-arm leg break googly 2023 All-roundersMitchell Owen Right-handed Right-arm medium 2025Glenn Maxwell Right-handed Right-arm off break 2024 Direct signingRachin Ravindra Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2024 Direct signingObus Pienaar Right-handed Left-arm off spin 2023 Ian Holland Right-handed Right-arm medium 2024 Wicket-keeperAndries Gous Right-handed 2023 Lahiru Milantha Left-handed 2024 BowlersSaurabh Netravalkar Right-handed Left-arm medium fast 2023 Marco Jansen 1 May 2000Right-handedLeft-arm fast 2023Direct signingLockie Ferguson Right-handed Right-arm fast 2024 Direct signingBen Dwarshuis 23 June 1994Left-handedLeft-arm fast-medium2023Direct signingAmila Aponso Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2024 Yasir Mohammad Left-handed Legbreak Googly 2024
League stage
Standing Points table
Match summary +TeamGroup matchesPlayoffs1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Q/ECFWashington Freedom022446881012WWL Win Loss Tie No Result
Playoffs
Eliminator
Challenger
Final
Administration and support staff
+Washington Freedom staffPositionNameHead coach Ricky PontingGeneral Manager Michael KlingerBowling coach Dale SteynAssistant coach Samit PatelTeam manager Andrew LynchStrength and conditioning Umar GulHigh performance analyst Zamir KhanPhysiotherapist Noor Ali Zadran
References