---
type: story
title: "How MLC Mastered Death Bowling in 3 Seasons"
description: >
  A 3-year-old league with 75 total matches has produced death-bowling economies that match IPL's
  elite. CJ Gannon at 7.18, Pat Cummins at 7.38, Lockie Ferguson at 7.54 — all below Bumrah's
  IPL 2026 figure of 7.69. The question is why.
tags:
  - MLC
  - IPL
  - death-overs
  - bowling
status: active
last_verified: 2026-06-23
timestamp: 2026-06-23
license: CC-BY-4.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: derived_claims_only
canonical_page: https://okf.cricketstudio.ai/stories/mlc-death-overs-revolution/
resource: https://okf.cricketstudio.ai/stories/mlc-death-overs-revolution/
entity_id: cricketstudio:story:mlc-death-overs-revolution
dataset_version: 2026-06-11
provenance:
  source: CricketStudio aggregation of Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 (cricsheet.org) — MLC all-time (2023–2025), IPL 2026
  confidence: high
  notes: >
    MLC death economy figures are all-time across 3 MLC seasons. IPL 2026 death economy is for
    the 2026 season only. Death overs defined as overs 17–20. Minimum qualifying threshold: 15
    balls bowled in death overs. All from CricketStudio derived-claim layer.
related:
  - ../metrics/death-overs-economy.md
  - ../dossier/best-death-overs-bowler-mlc.md
  - ../dossier/best-death-overs-bowler-ipl-2026.md
  - ../scorebook/players/jasprit-bumrah.md
---

# How MLC Mastered Death Bowling in 3 Seasons

## The Question Nobody Asked

How long does it take a T20 league to develop genuine death-bowling craft?

The IPL started in 2008. It took years — and the emergence of specialists like Malinga, [Bumrah](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/jasprit-bumrah), and Rashid — before the death-bowling standard reached its current level. MLC played its first season in 2023.

## What the Data Says

**MLC all-time death-overs bowling leaders (minimum 15 balls, overs 17–20):**

| Bowler | Team | Death Economy | Balls |
|--------|------|--------------|-------|
| CJ Gannon | Seattle Orcas | **7.18 RPO** | 71 |
| PJ Cummins | San Francisco Unicorns | **7.38 RPO** | 48 |
| LH Ferguson | LA KR / Washington Freedom | **7.54 RPO** | 74 |

**IPL 2026 death-overs context:**

- [Jasprit Bumrah](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/jasprit-bumrah) (Mumbai Indians): **7.69 RPO** from 78 balls

MLC's top 3 death bowlers are all below [Bumrah](https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/jasprit-bumrah)'s IPL 2026 figure — the benchmark for elite T20 death bowling.

Gannon and Ferguson have 70+ ball samples, well above the 15-ball floor.

## The Wow

A league that has played 75 total matches across 3 seasons has produced three bowlers with death economies matching or beating IPL's best-regarded specialist.

This is not coincidence. MLC franchises were built with explicit knowledge of what makes T20 bowling work at the death. The league was designed — in draft strategy, squad composition, and coaching structures — with 16 years of IPL data already available. MLC did not need to discover death bowling. It started with the answers.

The result is a compression of learning that took the IPL a decade to achieve, done in three seasons.

## What It Doesn't Say

This is not a claim that MLC death bowling is superior to IPL death bowling in aggregate. The IPL has 18 seasons of data and 10 times the match volume. MLC's top figures come from bowlers who also play in other T20 leagues — including the IPL — so the talent pool is not independent.

Cummins' 48-ball sample, while above the floor, is smaller than Gannon's or Ferguson's. IPL 2026 figures are for one season; comparing them to MLC all-time figures is a legitimate scope choice but should be stated — and it is stated here.

The era context matters: bowling in MLC 2023–2025 is not bowling in IPL 2008. Batting has become more aggressive across all leagues in the same period, which makes low death economies harder to achieve — and more impressive.

## Related Concepts

- [Death Overs Economy — metric definition](../metrics/death-overs-economy.md)
- [Best Death Overs Bowler — MLC](../dossier/best-death-overs-bowler-mlc.md)
- [Best Death Overs Bowler — IPL 2026](../dossier/best-death-overs-bowler-ipl-2026.md)
- [Jasprit Bumrah](../scorebook/players/jasprit-bumrah.md)
