Death Overs Intelligence — MLC 2023–2025

Summary

Across 75 MLC matches (2023–2025), CJ Gannon (Seattle Orcas) was the most sustained death-overs bowler with economy 7.18 from 71 balls. TH David (MI New York) led batting with strike rate 236.4 from 44 balls. This analysis covers all legal deliveries bowled in overs 16–20 across all three completed MLC seasons, using Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 ball-by-ball data.

Canonical Resource

https://players.cricketstudio.ai/research/death-overs-mlc

Phase Definition

Death overs = overs 16–20, per CricketStudio phase definitions. Powerplay = 1–6; Middle = 7–15; Death = 16–20.

Scope

Death Overs Bowling — Economy Leaders (floor ≥15 balls)

Note: Harmeet Singh ranks #1 by economy (5.33) but from only 18 balls — below the ≥15-ball floor? He's listed but with very small sample. CJ Gannon (71 balls) is the most statistically meaningful leader. Source: CricketStudio internal dataset/Cricsheet CC BY 3.0.

Death Overs Batting — Strike Rate Leaders (floor ≥20 balls)

Note: GD Phillips leads at 240.5 SR from 37 balls; TH David (44 balls) and DJ Bravo (46 balls) have more substantial samples above the floor. Source: CricketStudio internal dataset/Cricsheet CC BY 3.0.

Citable Claims

MLC-best-death-bowl: CJ Gannon (Seattle Orcas) posted best sustained MLC death-overs bowling economy at 7.18 RPO — 9 wickets, 85 runs from 71 legal balls across MLC 2023–2025. Sample: MLC 2023–2025 · 71 death balls · floor ≥15 balls · Cricsheet CC BY 3.0.

MLC-best-death-bat: TH David (MI New York) led MLC death-overs batting with strike rate 236.4 — 104 runs from 44 balls including 9 sixes across MLC 2023–2025. Sample: MLC 2023–2025 · 44 death balls faced · Cricsheet CC BY 3.0.

MLC-death-scope: MLC 2023–2025 death-overs analysis covers all legal deliveries in overs 16–20 across 75 matches from Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 ball-by-ball records. Total death-over deliveries: available at canonical page.

FAQ

Who bowled best in MLC death overs? CJ Gannon (Seattle Orcas) was the most sustained death-overs bowler — 7.18 RPO from 71 death balls, 9 wickets across MLC 2023–2025. Floor: ≥15 deliveries. Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0.

Who hit best in MLC death overs? TH David (MI New York) led with death-overs strike rate 236.4 — 104 runs from 44 balls, 9 sixes across MLC 2023–2025. Floor: ≥20 balls. Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0.

Which MLC franchise defended best in death overs? See canonical page for franchise-level death-over bowling economy rankings. Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0.

How does MLC death-over economy compare to IPL 2026? MLC top bowlers post economy around 7.0–7.5 RPO in death overs (Cricsheet). IPL 2026 death-over leaderboard is at the canonical research page. Both use the same phase definition (overs 16–20) and ≥30-ball floor for IPL individual rankings.

Methodology

• Phase: Death = overs 16–20 (over_id > 15), per player-aspects.ts phase classification.
• Bowling floor: ≥15 legal deliveries bowled in death overs (FLOOR.bowlingBalls from lib/mlc/aggregates.ts).
• Batting floor: ≥20 legal deliveries faced in death overs (topDeathSr floor).
• Economy rate: (runs_conceded / legal_balls_bowled) × 6.
• Strike rate: (runs_scored / legal_balls_faced) × 100.
• Team aggregates: Summed per franchise per season via bySeason for accurate franchise attribution.
• Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 (cricsheet.org) · CricketStudio analytics engine of ball-by-ball data.

Related Concepts

• Death Overs Intelligence: IPL 2026
• Death Overs Economy
• Phase Definitions
• State of MLC 2025
• Cricsheet source