Smith superb as Washington waltz to MLC crown

Steve Smith's love affair with the United States deepened as the star batter reminded national selectors of his T20 prowess in a Major League Cricket final that had a distinctly Australian flavour.

Pat Cummins was immense for his San Fransisco Unicorns, whose ties to Silicon Valley and the world of venture capital lured the Test captain to the franchise, but was trumped by a jaw-dropping hand from Smith (88 off 52 balls) at Dallas' Grand Prairie Stadium.

The decider of the MLC's second season was unmistakably American. A pre-game rendition of Star Spangled Banner played on electric guitar was followed by a drone light show as the 'half-time' entertainment.

Commentators donned cowboy hats in keeping with the Texas venue that hosted the T20 World Cup opener last month, while sixes struck into the 7,000-strong crowd were measured in feet.

But the myriad Australians involved – eight of the 22 finalists, head coaches Ricky Ponting (Washington) and Shane Watson (San Fransisco), as well as the bulk of their assistants – left their mark on the competition's pinnacle match contested by the Cricket Victoria-aligned Unicorns and the Cricket NSW-aligned Freedom.

Washington captain Smith, who owns an apartment in New York City, carted six sixes as he shared in a 83-run onslaught with Glenn Maxwell. Their union lasted 38 deliveries and essentially decided the match.

"He's been absolutely brilliant," Ponting said of Smith. "He's pretty much singlehandedly won that game with the bat.

"I spoke to him before the game this morning and said, 'Look, if you play well, you show your class, you can win this game by yourself'. He's been awesome - his on-field leadership has been great."

Cummins (2-35 from four overs) had dismissed Smith's opening partner Travis Head with the new ball, but was then curiously held back by captain Corey Anderson as Smith and Maxwell torched the Unicorns' less credentialled bowlers.

Maxwell hit four sixes en route to a 22-ball 40 but not even he could keep up with his long-time national teammate. He applauded when Smith, left out of Australia's T20 World Cup squad earlier this year, scooped Haris Rauf for the most daring of his six sixes.

By the time Cummins returned to dismiss Smith with a faster bouncer, and wicketkeeper Josh Inglis then leapt to take a stunning one-hander to account for Maxwell the following over, the damage had been done.

Washington's 5-207, the highest score of this MLC season, proved 96 too many for San Fransisco, skittled for 111 with Inglis' 18 surpassed only by tailender Carmi le Roux hitting 20 in junk time.

It was the culmination of an impressive season from the Smith and Ponting-led Washington side that lost just one match all season.

Their other opener, Head, was named tournament MVP after hitting five consecutive fifties leading into the final, finishing with 336 runs at a strike-rate of 173.

"Everyone stood up at different times," said Smith.

"Our batting was strong – I don't think Marco (Jansen, the South Africa allrounder) even got a bat throughout the tournament batting at number eight.

"Travis Head was outstanding, it was nice to bat up the other end from him. He makes things a lot easier for me."

Jake Fraser-McGurk's fizzling follow-up to his breakout Indian Premier League campaign was capped as the Unicorns opener was dismissed for three to become the first of three Powerplay victims to the Freedom's left-arm pace pair, Marco Jansen and Saurabh Netravalkar.

Wisconsin-born, Melbourne-raised Ian Holland had given Fraser-McGurk a life first ball when he fumbled a catch at point, but made up for his error when he took a tremendous diving outfield grab off Sherfane Rutherford amid a strong finish to the tournament for Maxwell (1-14).

Andrew Tye (2-12), a late inclusion after Kiwi speedster Lockie Ferguson missed due to injury, got revenge over Inglis check-driving him for six by bowling his Perth Scorchers teammate to all but confirm Washington's triumph.

Australia's influence on the competition is certain to stretch beyond this season; Victoria and NSW have made long-term commitments to their Unicorns and Freedom franchises, while Cummins holds a four-year deal with the Unicorns, opening the door for other leading Australian to potentially join him in signing multi-year deals.