| Dates | 28 January 2016 – 13 February 2016 [1] |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | Emirates Cricket Board |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Champions | Gemini Arabians (1st title) |
| Matches | 18 |
| Player of the series | Kumar Sangakkara (Gemini Arabians) |
| Most runs | Kumar Sangakkara (Gemini Arabians) (386) |
| Most wickets | Muttiah Muralitharan (Gemini Arabians) (15) |
Masters Champions League (MCL) was a Twenty20 cricket league held in the United Arab Emirates and contested by former international cricketers. It consisted of six teams and the only season of the competition which took place was held in January and February 2016 [2] and won by the Gemini Arabians. [3] The MCL received approval for a 10 seasons from the Emirates Cricket Board but faced difficulties before its first season over the status of "retired" international players who were still contracted to other domestic competitions and folded after just one season. [4] Problems were experienced by the league with delays in player payments which almost led to players abandoning the tournament mid-season. [5]
2016 Masters Champions League was the Twenty20 cricket tournament that took place from 28 January to 13 February 2016 in Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. [1] The tournament was contested by six teams of fifteen players, all former international cricketers, [2] with the Gemini Arabians defeating the Leo Lions in the final by 16 runs. [6]
The tournament was announced by the league's CEO Zafar Shah in June 2015. [7] The league generated some support in the United Arab Emirates, including the official approval from the Emirates Cricket Board. The company operated under the umbrella of the Grand Midwest Group. [7] [8]
The MCL governing body included the Chief Operating Officer, Sean Morris (COO), President Abdul Rahman Falaknaz and six others including former international cricketers Allan Border and Graham Gooch and businessman Zafar Shah. [9]
 |
Former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis achieved the top bid of the player auction, joining the Libra Legends for US$175,000. Former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist was the second-highest signing, purchased by the Sagittarius Strikers for $170,000. Other players with high bids included former England captain Paul Collingwood ($140,000), Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka ($120,000), West Indies' Brian Lara ($100,000) and Brett Lee of Australia ($100,000).
The following six franchises participated in the tournament: [10]
| Team | Captain | Icon player |
|---|---|---|
| Libra Legends | Jacques Kallis | Jacques Kallis |
| Gemini Arabians | Virender Sehwag | Kumar Sangakkara |
| Sagittarius Strikers | Adam Gilchrist | Mahela Jayawardene |
| Virgo Super Kings | Graeme Smith | Brett Lee |
| Capricorn Commanders | Paul Collingwood | Paul Collingwood |
| Leo Lions | Brian Lara | Brian Lara |
| United Arab Emirates | |
|---|---|
| Dubai | Sharjah |
| Dubai International Cricket Stadium | Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium |
| Capacity: 25,000 | Capacity: 27,000 |
 |  |
| Team [11] | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini Arabians | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +1.419 |
| Leo Lions | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.200 |
| Virgo Super Kings | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -0.280 |
| Sagittarius Strikers | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +0.716 |
| Capricorn Commanders | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.162 |
| Libra Legends | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.955 |
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Gemini Arabians | 191/5 | |||||||
| 4 | Sagittarius Strikers | 181/6 | |||||||
| 1 | Gemini Arabians | 130/7 | |||||||
| 2 | Leo Lions | 114 | |||||||
| 2 | Leo Lions | 139/7 | |||||||
| 3 | Virgo Super Kings | 122/9 | |||||||
The top four teams from the group stage qualified for the semi-finals.
Gemini Arabians 191/5 (20 overs) | v | Sagittarius Strikers 181/6 (20 overs) |
Leo Lions 139/7 (20 overs) | v | Virgo Super Kings 122/9 (20 overs) |
The winners of the two semi-finals qualified for the final: [12]
Gemini Arabians 130/7 (20 overs) | v | Leo Lions 114 (19.3 overs) |
| Player | Team | Inns | Runs | Ave | SR | HS | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kumar Sangakkara | Gemini Arabians | 7 | 386 | 64.33 | 148.46 | 86 | 0 | 5 | 34 | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| Virender Sehwag | Gemini Arabians | 6 | 318 | 53.00 | 183.81 | 134 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 18 | ||||||||||||||
| Mahela Jayawardene | Sagittarius Strikers | 6 | 299 | 49.83 | 162.50 | 124 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| James Franklin | Leo Lions | 7 | 220 | 55.00 | 118.27 | 65* | 0 | 1 | 6 | 10 | ||||||||||||||
| Ryan ten Doeschate | Libra Legends | 5 | 171 | 42.75 | 158.33 | 67 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| Source: ESPNcricinfo.com, last updated 13 February 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Player | Team | Inns | Wkts | Ave | Econ | BBI | SR | 4WI | 5WI | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muttiah Muralitharan | Gemini Arabians | 6 | 15 | 11.06 | 6.91 | 4/19 | 9.6 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Kyle Mills | Gemini Arabians | 7 | 12 | 15.75 | 7.56 | 2/13 | 12.5 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Kyle Jarvis | Leo Lions | 5 | 11 | 13.90 | 7.65 | 3/17 | 10.9 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Fidel Edwards | Leo Lions | 7 | 11 | 21.09 | 8.92 | 4/33 | 14.1 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Malinga Bandara | Virgo Super Kings | 6 | 10 | 15.20 | 6.90 | 4/16 | 13.2 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Source: ESPNcricinfo.com, last updated 13 February 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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