Washington Freedom vs Seattle Orcas MLC 2026 Report | Statz
Seattle Orcas won by 88 runs in the 9th match of 34 in Major League Cricket 2026 at Oakland Coliseum. Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to bowl, but were demolished chasing 228 as Jasdeep Singh ripped through their batting with career-best figures of 5/24. The result lifts the Orcas to 2nd in the standings on 4 points, while Freedom drop to the bottom of the table with a net run rate of -1.462 after their second straight defeat to the same opposition.
First Innings – Seattle Orcas 227/6 (20 overs)
Tim Seifert set the tone with 37 off 20 balls at a strike rate of 185, clearing the rope four times before falling at 59/1 in the 7th over. Shayan Jahangir struggled by comparison, managing 22 off 23 (SR 96) before departing at 63/2 in the 8th.
Matthew Breetzke kept the scoreboard ticking with 32 off 23 including three sixes, falling at 138/3 in the 15th over. That brought together the partnership that blew the game wide open.
Shimron Hetmyer was absolutely devastating – an unbeaten 79 off 33 balls at a strike rate of 239 with nine sixes. It was a sensational display of power hitting that took the Orcas from a solid position to a match-winning one. Marcus Stoinis matched the carnage with 42 off just 16 deliveries, clearing the rope six times at a strike rate of 263 before falling at 189/4 in the 18th over. Ali Sheikh added a quickfire 11 off 4 at the death to push the total to 227/6.
Marco Jansen was the pick of the Freedom bowlers with 3/33 from 4 overs (Econ 8.25). Ian Holland took 2/49 from 4 overs (Econ 12.25), while Jack Edwards conceded 56 from his 4 at an economy of 14.00.
Second Innings – Washington Freedom 139 all out (16.2 overs)
The Freedom chase started in disaster. Steven Smith fell for 1 off 3 balls at 6/1 in the 2nd over, and Mitchell Owen followed with 5 off 7 at 18/2 in the 3rd. Andries Gous counter-attacked briefly with 18 off 11 including two sixes, but was bowled at 31/3 in the 5th over. Glenn Maxwell was bowled for a golden duck next ball at 31/4 – two wickets in two deliveries and the contest was effectively over.
Edwards (4 off 3) fell at 36/5 and Obus Pienaar (10 off 6) went at 48/6 as the top order collapse became a full capitulation. Mark Chapman managed just 7 off 10 before falling at 50/7. Holland (26 off 19, SR 137) and Jansen (20 off 20) added 54 for the eighth wicket to take Freedom past 100, but it was merely delaying the inevitable.
Amila Aponso struck a breezy unbeaten 31 off 13 (SR 238) but it was purely academic. Freedom were bowled out for 139 in 16.2 overs – 88 runs short of the target.
Jasdeep Singh was sensational with 5/24 from 4 overs at an economy of 6.00. Cameron Gannon claimed 2/16 from 2.2 overs (Econ 6.86), while Ottneil Baartman (1/11) and Stoinis (1/20) completed the rout.
Statz MVP – Jasdeep Singh (139.34)
Jasdeep Singh’s 5/24 spell dismantled the Freedom batting lineup in the most comprehensive fashion. The Statz Match Impact model calculates impact based on match context, and his five wickets at an economy of 6.00 earn him a rating of 139.34 – the highest individual match rating in MLC 2026 so far. Statz agrees with the official Player of the Match award.
Top 5 Statz Ratings
- Jasdeep Singh (SO) – 139.34 | 5/24, Econ 6.00. The match-defining spell that ended the chase before it began.
- Marco Jansen (WSF) – 114.27 | 3/33 with the ball plus 20 with the bat. Best all-round contribution for Freedom in a losing cause.
- Shimron Hetmyer (SO) – 108.35 | 79* off 33 (9 sixes, SR 239). Took the game away from Freedom in the first innings with sheer brutality.
- Marcus Stoinis (SO) – 105.98 | 42 off 16 batting (6 sixes) plus 1/20 bowling. Impact across both innings.
- Ian Holland (WSF) – 87.36 | 2/49 bowling plus 26 off 19 batting. The best of the rest in Freedom’s losing effort.
Turning Point
Glenn Maxwell – bowled for 0 off 1 ball at 31/4 in the 5th over (ball 4.2). Freedom had just lost Gous at 31/3 one delivery earlier (4.1), and Maxwell’s golden duck made it back-to-back wickets. Chasing 228, losing your two most destructive batters in consecutive deliveries at 31/4 ended any realistic hope of a competitive chase. Freedom never recovered, losing their remaining six wickets for 108 runs.
Match Context
The Seattle Orcas climb to 2nd in the MLC 2026 standings (P4, W2, L2, 4pts, NRR +0.221), level on points with the Los Angeles Knight Riders at the top but behind on net run rate. This was the 9th match of 34 in the regular season.
Washington Freedom slump to 6th and last (P3, W1, L2, 2pts, NRR -1.462) – the worst net run rate in the competition by a distance. This is their second consecutive loss to the Orcas this season after the 5-wicket defeat on June 20th, and the all-time head-to-head is now level at 3-3. Freedom need to turn things around quickly with the season approaching the halfway mark.
Full scorecard and player stats available on Statz.
