Liam Plunkett and Aaron Finch sign up for new US T20 league

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Liam Plunkett lifting the World Cup next to Eoin MorganLiam Plunkett (left) played 13 Tests, 89 ODIs and 22 T20s for England, taking 201 wickets across all formats

England World Cup winner Liam Plunkett and former Australia captain Aaron Finch are among the players to sign up for a new United States T20 tournament.

They will play for the San Francisco Unicorns in the Major League Cricket in July.

Batter Finch, 36, is one of six overseas players along with former South Africa skipper Quinton de Kock.

Pace bowler Plunkett, 37, is eligible as a domestic player because his wife is American.

He made the last of his 89 one-day appearances for England in the 2019 World Cup final triumph against New Zealand at Lord's.

Plunkett signed up for the tournament - the first US professional T20 league - in 2021 after leaving Surrey, but the proposed start date of 2022 was pushed back by a year.

He has played for the Philadelphians in the Eastern Division of Minor League Cricket and also expressed an interest in playing for the US.

Each of the six teams picked nine US-based players in Sunday's domestic player draft alongside six overseas signings, with more set to be announced in the next few weeks.

Finch, who retired from international cricket last month, will captain the Unicorns alongside Plunkett and Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis.

Wicketkeeper De Kock will play for Seattle Orcas along with another Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, while DC Freedom signed Sri Lanka spin bowling all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga and South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje.

The tournament takes place between 13 and 30 July in Dallas, Texas.

USA Cricket became an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2019 and hopes to become a full member by 2030.

The ICC is also bidding to have cricket included in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

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