One of the most decorated and consistent T20 Franchises in America, the Chicago Kingsmen, will travel 15,000 kilometres to Darwin with the aim of adding the Top End T20 Series to their trophy cabinet.
The Kingsmen have dominated American competition in recent years, and the addition of the 2024 Minor League Cricket Champions continues the Top End T20 Series incredible growth story.
Minor League Cricket (MiLC) is a professional T20 competition in the United States that serves as a developmental league for Major League Cricket (MLC) which has quickly become one of the wealthiest T20 tournaments in the world, receiving investments that exceed AU$174 million. Major League Cricket is currently taking place in Florida, California and Texas and includes a host of big-name Australian players and coaches including Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, David Warner, Ricky Ponting, and Shane Watson.
The addition of ‘America’s Team’ to the Top End T20 Series continues to showcase the rise of T20 franchise cricket, and the incredible economic, tourism and diplomacy opportunities the sport offers the Northern Territory.
The Kingsmen squad will include uncapped USA allrounder Hassan Khan who was recently picked up in the BBL|15 Draft by the Melbourne Renegades, as well as former Pakistan and Sri Lankan internationals now based in the U.S, Hammad Azam and Shehan Jayasuriya. The squad will be coached by New Zealand Test Cricketer and former Scotland and Pakistan Head Coach Grant Bradburn.
NT Cricket CEO, Gavin Dovey:
"The growth of cricket in the U.S over the past few years has been enormous, from sold out T20 World Cup matches in New York to the return of cricket to the Olympics in LA28, it’s an emerging market grabbing everyone’s attention.
“Major League Cricket’s investors include the largest media conglomerate in India, the chief executive of Microsoft, and the former chief executive of Adobe, so it’s fair to say English cricket now has serious franchise competition in the summer months.
“The Kingsmen are a T20 franchise who have been at the forefront of that American journey so we couldn’t be more excited to welcome them to the Northern Territory.
"The Top End T20 Series was created as a vehicle to market and promote the Northern Territory to a global audience, and the arrival of a United States T20 Franchise is yet another example of the power and scale of our winter cricket opportunity.”
Grant Bradburn, Head Coach, Kingsmen Cricket:
“We’re approaching this tour with the mindset of expansion, not just of our skills, but of our identity as a team. As America’s most successful T20 franchise, the Kingsmen are ready to showcase the depth of talent and professionalism that’s driving cricket forward in the U.S.
My focus is on unlocking our players’ ability to perform under different pressures, in new environments, and against unfamiliar opposition. This kind of experience fast-tracks growth, and this group is built to take that challenge head-on.”
A full 2025 Top End T20 Series fixture and all 11 teams participating will continue to be announced over the coming weeks.
2025 Top End T20 Series Teams (Announced)
Nepal National Team
Pakistan Shaheens
Bangladesh (A Team)
Chicago Kingsmen