3 things Ricky Ponting and Steve Smith did better than others for Washington Freedom's MLC 2024 title win
Washington Freedom beat San Francisco Unicorns by a whopping margin of 96 runs in the final of Major League Cricket 2024 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, July 28. This was Washington's first title after MI New York had won the inaugural MLC last season; it comes on the back of them appointing Ricky Ponting as head coach and Steve Smith as captain.
Both men had a major say in Washington's title run, as they ensured a relaxed environment that focused more on the process and less on the sort of result that it led to.
We look at three things that Ponting and Smith did better than others for Washington:
#1 Imbibing a sense of belief
The Ponting-Smith duo tried to rewrite the script for Washington this season by first imbibing a sense of belief in the team. This is, as always, the most difficult thing to do to any group of players.
This team bowed out in the Eliminator of the MLC last season and would have struggled to back themselves to the hilt this year as well if not for Ponting and Smith pushing them to give their best no matter what.
Ponting is known to be an excellent man-manager, and with fellow Aussie Smith at the helm of this team, he would have been able to get his ideas across much better.
Smith, for his part, allowed Ponting to take complete charge of both training sessions and gameday planning, and this gave the rest of the players the idea that the captain and coach were on the same page regarding most matters.
#2 Rewriting what it means to be a T20 batter
One of the biggest stories of MLC 2024 was how Smith rewrote himself as a T20 batter and redefined the role as most people tend to see it. While he has been written off as a Test and ODI specialist, Smith showed other signs.
Opening the innings alongside fellow Aussie Travis Head, Smith managed to get his team off to a good start on most occasions and beat the striking rate of most of his more attack-minded colleagues.
The NSW batter ended up second on the list of the top-run-getters of this tournament with 336 runs under his belt, only finishing behind Texas Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis, who scored 420 runs.
This new side of Smith allowed the rest of the batters in the Washington lineup to play with the freedom that they wanted, which in turn, helped the side in putting up big totals or chasing them down.
#3 Giving everyone a clear-cut idea of what their roles entail
Ponting and Smith did extremely well in giving everyone on the team a clear idea of their roles. This brought out the best from every player who was a part of the squad.
Once players knew what was expected of them from the management, they were able to express themselves fully and live up to the expectations held by the thousands of their supporters across the country.
Both Aussies who took charge of the side's fortunes this season were responsible for laying out plans for their progression into the playoffs and later on how to win the title. They achieved this task comfortably as the Washington Freedom came out on top.