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Match 23 | Major League Cricket 2026 | Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, Texas | 8 July 2026
Trent Boult’s left-arm swing against Lhuan-dre Pretorius’s left-handed aggression is the matchup most likely to shape Match 23. Pretorius arrives as the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer, Boult as the bowler whose first-over strikes have already produced a T20 milestone this season. San Francisco have never lost to MI New York in five previous MLC meetings, and if that streak continues, it will likely be because their opener got the better of the veteran seamer inside the first few overs at Grand Prairie.
Matches at this ground have averaged 172 runs in the first innings across 52 MLC fixtures, a number that reflects a surface offering genuine seam movement with the new ball. Boundaries ranging from 55 to 76 metres still reward clean hitting once the ball loses its shine.
Chasing has carried a slight edge here, with 29 of those 52 matches won by the side batting second against 23 won defending. Evening conditions at Grand Prairie tend to assist swing bowling, a detail that has historically played to Boult’s style with the new ball.
San Francisco have won every single meeting between these two sides in Major League Cricket, a streak that now stands at five after their most recent win on 5 July. MI New York were bowled out for 104 in that match, and San Francisco chased it down in 16.5 overs for the loss of five wickets.
The pattern goes back further. In their 2025 meeting, San Francisco posted 246 for 4 and won by 47 runs after MI New York could only manage 199, still their best score against this opponent. Nothing in the head-to-head history offers MI New York much comfort heading into Match 23.
Boult’s standout moment this MLC 2026 season came in Match 7, taking 3 for 18 against Texas Super Kings by dismissing Smit Patel in the first over and bowling Rilee Rossouw in the third, a spell that also brought up his 50th first-over wicket in T20 cricket, a record no other bowler holds. He added Jahangir’s wicket in Match 17 against Seattle Orcas. His full season tally isn’t publicly confirmed, though he topped the 2023 MLC wicket charts with 22 wickets, including two four-wicket hauls in the playoffs, and won the title with this franchise in 2025.
| Stat Field | Trent Boult (MINY) | Lhuan-dre Pretorius (SFU) |
| Role | Left-arm fast-medium bowler | Left-handed opening batter, wicketkeeper |
| MLC 2026 matches | 6 | 7 |
| Best 2026 figures | 3/18 vs Texas Super Kings | 87 vs Seattle Orcas |
| Notable record | 50 first-over wickets in T20s | 2nd-highest run-scorer in MLC 2026 |
Pretorius, just 20, has scored 313 runs from seven innings this season at an average of 52.16 and a strike rate of 178.86, second only to Mitchell Owen’s 344 on the run charts. His two most destructive innings, 87 off 39 and 66 off 26, both came against pace bowled full and straight.
Neither team is a one-man operation. MI New York can call on Quinton de Kock and Monank Patel at the top alongside captain Nicholas Pooran in the middle order, while Corbin Bosch has been their most consistent wicket-taker this season with 12 scalps from six matches. Kieron Pollard’s finishing and Romario Shepherd’s pace-bowling allrounder role add further depth to the side chasing its first win over this opponent.
San Francisco’s depth around Pretorius has been just as important to their unbeaten record in this fixture, giving their batting real support.
Everything about Match 23 points back to the same contest. If Boult removes Pretorius early, the pattern that has haunted MI New York across five meetings has a real chance of breaking. If Pretorius survives the powerplay and gets his eye in, San Francisco’s supporting batters have shown all season they can finish the job from there.
MI New York vs SF Unicorns MLC 2026 has so far been a one-sided story, and Match 23 at Grand Prairie looks like it will turn on whether one 36-year-old left-arm swing bowler can finally solve one 20-year-old left-handed opener before the game gets away from him.
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What time does MI New York vs San Francisco Unicorns start on July 8?
Match 23 kicks off at 7:30 pm local time in Dallas on July 8. The night match is being played at Grand Prairie Stadium under lights.
Where is MLC 2026 Match 23 being played?
Match 23 is being played at Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas. The venue has hosted 52 MLC matches, giving both sides plenty of recent data to draw on.
How many runs has Lhuan-dre Pretorius scored in MLC 2026?
Pretorius has scored 313 runs from seven innings this MLC 2026 season. That tally, at an average of 52.16, ranks second on the tournament’s run charts behind Mitchell Owen.
How many wickets has Trent Boult taken this MLC season?
Boult’s full season wicket tally isn’t publicly confirmed beyond his standout performances. He took 3 for 18 against Texas Super Kings and added another wicket against Seattle Orcas in a later match.
Who are MI New York’s key players in MLC 2026?
Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran and Trent Boult lead MI New York’s squad this season. Corbin Bosch has been their top wicket-taker, while Kieron Pollard and Romario Shepherd add depth through the middle overs.
