Former Australian skipper Steve Smith has succeeded his Sydney Sixers teammate Moises Henriques to lead the Washington Freedom for the second season of the USA's Major League Cricket (MLC). Smith, who was one of the few Australians to sign up with the Washington outfit including the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head and a new head coach in Ricky Ponting, will be leading a T20 side for the first time since 2017 when he was the captain of Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 2017.
Smith was excited for the opportunity and was looking forward to the season. "Yeah, it's been good. Just getting to know all the guys. [I have] been here for a couple of days now, played one practice game, got another today. Looking forward to this season, I think we've got a really good squad, good bunch of guys and excited for what this season holds," Smith said in a video posted by Washington Freedom.
This is also the second time that Smith will be working with Ponting as a coach in a T20 setup after IPL 2021 with the Delhi Capitals. With the likes of Andries Gous, Saurabh Netravalkar, experienced locals combined with overseas stars not just the Aussies but with Rachin Ravindra, Marco Jansen, and Lockie Ferguson at the disposal, Ponting and Smith have a variety of options to play with.
The Freedom begin their campaign against the defending champions MI New York on Saturday, July 6 at Church Street Park in Morrisville. Smith will be hoping to lead Freedom to further than eliminator where their campaign came to an end last year.
Washington Freedom 2024 squad: Marco Jansen, Andries Gous, Mukhtar Ahmed, Obus Pienaar, Saurabh Netravalkar, Justin Dill, Akhilesh Bodugum, Akeal Hosin, Amila Aphonso, Ian Holland, Lahiru Milantha, Yasir Mohammad, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, Rachin Ravindra, Lockie Ferguson, Andre Tye
