MLC 2026 Week 2 Double-Header at Grand Prairie — Texas vs Washington Recap

Grand Prairie Stadium hosted the first MLC 2026 double-header on May 17 — Texas Super Kings vs Washington Freedom, the two highest-spending franchises in the league's third season. The match was billed as a Faf du Plessis vs Glenn Maxwell stand-off. It turned into a Travis Head powerplay assault followed by a Faf du Plessis chase masterclass. Texas chased 196 with eight balls to spare. The Saturday-Sunday Texas crowd of 7,400 watched the format's first must-watch fixture.

Phase one: the Travis Head opening

Washington Freedom batted first after winning the toss. Travis Head and Andries Gous opened. Head's plan was clear from ball one — take Mark Steketee on, then attack Ashok Ravichandran when he came in. Steketee's first over went for 16. Head pulled the second ball for six and drove the fourth for four. The third over (from Texas' second seamer Andrew Tye) went for 12.

The first six overs produced 81 runs. Head had made 52 of them. His powerplay strike rate of 200 set the template. By the time the powerplay ended Washington were 81 for 0 and looking at 250.

What the numbers say

Travis Head's 62 broke into a single phase. Powerplay (overs 1-6): 52 runs at strike rate 200, four sixes. Middle overs (7-9): 10 runs at strike rate 100, before falling. He was caught at deep midwicket trying to clear the rope off Ravichandran in the 10th over.

Glenn Maxwell came in at the fall of Andries Gous in the 11th over with the score 117 for 3. Maxwell made 36 off 24 — a contained innings against the Ravichandran wrong'un and the Steketee back-of-length plan. Washington finished 195 for 7 in 20 overs.

The death-overs bowling from Texas got the lid back on. Steketee's 18th over went for 7. Sajid Khan's 19th went for 11. The 20th from Steketee went for 9. The score was 21 short of par.

The Faf chase masterclass

Texas chased 196 with Faf du Plessis at the top. He opened with Marcus Stoinis after Devon Conway was out with a back niggle. The plan was for Faf to absorb and Stoinis to attack. It worked. Stoinis hit 28 off 14 in the powerplay before falling to Anrich Nortje. Texas were 51 for 1 after six overs.

Faf made 73 not out off 49 in the middle and death overs. The matchup data against the Washington attack: against Nortje 18 off 14, against Lockie Ferguson 22 off 14, against Saurabh Netravalkar 19 off 11, against Andrew Tye 14 off 10. The Nortje matchup was the cricketing highlight. Faf played the back-of-length cross-seamer with a dead bat in the 17th over, then drove the slower-ball yorker through cover for four.

The over that flipped the chase

The 17th over of the Texas chase was bowled by Anrich Nortje. Texas needed 31 off 18 with Faf on 41 not out and Mitchell Santner at the other end. Nortje's first ball was the back-of-length cross-seamer — Faf defended for nil. The second was a slower ball — Faf drove through cover for four. The third was a yorker — Faf jammed for one. The fourth was a slower-ball bouncer — Santner pulled for six.

The over went for 14. The required rate dropped from 10.3 to 6.4. Faf finished the match with a single through midwicket off Saurabh Netravalkar in the 19th over with eight balls to spare.

What it means for the season

Texas have a 1-1 record after two games. Washington are 1-1. The two highest-spend franchises are level after Week 2, which suits the format's competitive balance. Faf's chase masterclass moves him to the top of the MLC 2026 run-scoring chart with 157 runs in two innings.

Glenn Maxwell's 36 was a contained innings rather than a defining one. The Washington dressing-room conversation will be about getting Maxwell into the death-overs phase when he can hit. He was at the crease for the 12th-19th over window — the lower-strike-rate zone for his matchups.

The forward view

Texas play San Francisco Unicorns at Grand Prairie on May 19. Matt Short and Faf both at the top of their respective sides — the matchup will be Short vs Steketee in the powerplay.

Washington travel to face MI New York in Brooklyn on May 18. Travis Head vs Pat Cummins (yes, the Australian captain has signed on as a guest player for two MI matches) will be the marquee matchup.

What to watch next: Travis Head vs Pat Cummins in Washington vs MI New York on May 18 — the Australian Test captain meets the format's top run-scorer.

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