The Bart King Award was given by the league to the best performing player taken in the MLC Draft domestic player classification category. Gannon was taken in the fourth round, and 24th overall, of the 2023 MLC Draft by Seattle Orcas.

Photo credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter @PeterDellaPenna)
 
Seattle Orcas fast bowler Cameron Gannon was named the inaugural winner of the “Bart King Domestic Player of the Tournament Award” for the 2023 season of Major League Cricket. Gannon was announced as the winner shortly after his Orcas side fell to MI New York in the tournament final by seven wickets with four overs to spare. 
 
Gannon, the 34-year-old dual American-Australian national who last represented USA in 2019, finished tied for second overall in wickets at the tournament with 11 at an average of 17.36 and a 7.39 economy rate in seven matches. Gannon’s best spell came in the second match of the tournament for the Orcas when he claimed figures of 4 for 23 in a win over San Francisco Unicorns.
 
Gannon’s nearest competitors for the award were Washington Freedom left-arm pace bowler Saurabh Netravalkar, who took 10 wickets in six matches at an average of 15.90 and a 7.28 economy, and MI New York left-arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige, who had a tournament best 5.73 economy rate in 15.2 overs while also taking six wickets at an average of 14.66 in six matches for the champion MI New York squad. 
 
Across the tournament, a total of 61 matches were played by USA capped internationals, spread across 11 players. Aside from those who played in the group stage (Gannon, Netravalkar, Kenjige, Monank Patel, Shayan Jahangir, Steven Taylor, Ali Khan, Gajanand Singh, Jaskaran Malhotra), Jessy Singh appeared in the tournament final for MI New York, returning figures of 0 for 33 in two overs. 
 
MI New York had the overwhelming number of player appearances among USA capped players, who made the starting XI 25 times out of a total of the 61 such selections in the tournament. The best statistical batter among the USA players was MI New York’s Jahangir, who ended with 164 runs in seven innings opening the batting at an average of 23.42 and a strike rate of 119.70. Collectively, USA capped batters scored 321 runs at an average of 12.84 with a best of 44 made by Monank Patel. By comparison, MI New York wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran singlehandedly outscored all of USA’s players combined as the tournament’s leading scorer, ending with 388 runs at an average of 64.66 and a strike rate of 167.24. 
 
On the bowling side, USA’s players were far more productive. Collectively, they ended up taking 39 wickets across 113.5 overs at an average of 22.74 and an economy rate of 7.79. Aside from Gannon and Netravalkar, both Khan and Kenjige both averaged at least one wicket per match.