By Dwayne Ferreira.
Tim Seifert and Matthew Breetzke powered Seattle Orcas to 219 for five after Ottneil Baartman halted Washington Freedom’s charge in MLC 2026.
Seattle Orcas recovered from their opening-night defeat by chasing 217 in only 17.4 overs to beat Washington Freedom by five wickets in another high-scoring Major League Cricket contest at Grand Prairie Stadium. Tim Seifert struck 78, Matthew Breetzke made 66 and Dasun Shanaka finished the pursuit with an unbeaten 36 from 12 balls after Ottneil Baartman’s four wickets prevented Washington from reaching an even larger total.
Seattle captain Harmeet Singh won the toss and chose to bowl, but Washington immediately attacked through Mitchell Owen and Steve Smith. Owen struck 10 fours and two sixes in a brutal 25-ball 61 as the defending finalists raced to 82 during the powerplay.
Shanaka ended the opening partnership by removing Owen at 82 and then trapped Smith leg before wicket for 24. Those wickets briefly slowed Washington, but Mark Chapman and Andries Gous restored the momentum with an 85-run partnership from 37 deliveries.
Chapman scored 57 from 24 balls, combining five fours with four sixes, while Gous contributed 35 from 21. Washington reached 175 for two after 14 overs and appeared capable of threatening 240.
Baartman then transformed the innings. He bowled Gous and Glenn Maxwell with consecutive deliveries before Chapman fell to Harmeet in the following over. Baartman later removed Obus Pienaar and Marco Jansen, finishing with four for 33.
Shanaka claimed three for 44, while Jasdeep Singh collected two late wickets. Washington lost their final eight wickets for 41 runs and were dismissed for 216 from the last ball of the innings, wasting much of the platform established by their top four.
Seattle began the chase even faster than Washington had constructed the target. Seifert and Shayan Jahangir added 52 from 20 balls before Saurabh Netravalkar removed Jahangir for 17.
Breetzke joined Seifert and ensured there was no reduction in tempo. Seattle reached 78 for one during the powerplay and required 139 from the remaining 14 overs, an equation already below 10 runs per over.
Seifert followed his opening-match century with seven fours and six sixes in a 33-ball 78. His 89-run partnership with Breetzke came from 46 deliveries and carried Seattle to 141 before Netravalkar finally dismissed him.
Breetzke continued to attack, scoring 66 from 36 balls with six fours and four sixes. Washington briefly reopened the match by dismissing Breetzke, Shimron Hetmyer and Tim Robinson within nine deliveries, reducing Seattle from 171 for two to 179 for five.
Shanaka refused to allow the collapse to develop. He struck successive sixes off Lockie Ferguson and finished with two fours and four sixes in his 12-ball innings. Together with Ali Sheikh, he added an unbroken 40 from 17 balls and ended the chase with 14 deliveries unused.
Baartman received the Player of the Match award for the spell that dragged Washington back from 175 for two and gave Seattle a target within reach. His four wickets were particularly important on a surface where nearly every frontline bowler endured heavy punishment.
The victory moved Seattle to one win from two matches and restored confidence before their meeting with the unbeaten Los Angeles Knight Riders. Washington began their campaign with defeat despite scoring 216, but their immediate match against MI New York offered an opportunity to correct the late-innings collapse that had cost them a potentially decisive 20 to 30 runs.
MATCH SUMMARY
WASHINGTON FREEDOM – 216 all out, 20 overs
Mitchell Owen 61, Mark Chapman 57, Andries Gous 35
Ottneil Baartman 4/33, Dasun Shanaka 3/44, Jasdeep Singh 2/46
SEATTLE ORCAS – 219/5, 17.4 overs
Tim Seifert 78, Matthew Breetzke 66, Dasun Shanaka 36 not out
Ian Holland 2/20, Saurabh Netravalkar 2/35, Marco Jansen 1/52
Result: Seattle Orcas won by five wickets with 14 balls remaining.
Player of the Match: Ottneil Baartman.
#SEOvWSF #SeattleOrcas #WashingtonFreedom #TimSeifert #MatthewBreetzke #DasunShanaka #OttneilBaartman #MLC2026 #MajorLeagueCricket #T20Cricket #CricketUSA #DallasCricket #RunChase #CricketNews #TheMorningTelegraph
