San Francisco Unicorns

Last updated
San Francisco Unicorns
San Francisco Unicorns Logo.jpg
League Major League Cricket
Personnel
Captain Pat Cummins
Coach Shane Watson
Owner Anand Rajaraman
Venky Harinarayan
Team information
City San Francisco, California, United States (planned)
ColoursOrange and Blue
Founded2023 (2023)
Home ground Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Stadium (planned)
Capacity15,000 (planned)
Official website www.sfunicorns.com
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body sfu23.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm.svg
Kit trousers long.png

T20 kit

The San Francisco Unicorns are an American franchise cricket team, planned to be based in San Francisco, California, that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). [1] In 2023, it was announced as one of the six teams to participate in the league's inaugural season. The team is owned by Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, co-founders of Cambrian ventures.

Contents

Plans are underway to build a stadium at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. [1] The stadium is expected to have a capacity of 15,000 people. The team currently plays at Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas and will continue to do so until the new stadium is completed. [2] In March 2023, Cricket Victoria announced their partnership with the Unicorns for the opening season. [3]

History

Background

Cricket has been growing steadily in San Jose, thanks to cricket clubs like the Northern California Cricket Alliance. Looking at these growing numbers, the county supervisors have been planning to build a stadium in the Santa Clara Fairgrounds. [4] The Unicorns' minor league affiliate are the Bay Blazers, which competes in MLC's developmental league Minor League Cricket.

In March 2023, the team ownership, name, and logo was unveiled prior to the inaugural MLC domestic draft. [5] The team is owned by Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, and the team partnered with the Australia's Cricket Victoria for the first season. [3] Justin Gaele, MLC tournament director emphasizing about the Unicorns, told that the Bay Area could serve as the launchpad for cricket in the United States.

Season Overview

2023 season

The Unicorns signed the first overseas player signed in the inaugural MLC — Australian international Aaron Finch. He was subsequently announced as the captain. [6] Corey Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Tajinder Singh and Smit Patel were prominent names picked in the domestic round of the draft; Marcus Stoinis was also announced as another overseas signing by the Unicorns. [7] In May 2023, the team announced direct signing of South African pacer, Lungi Ngidi. [8] On 20 June 2023, Unicorns announced former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson as their head coach for the 2023 season. [9]

The team finished fifth in the tournament, winning just two of their five league matches. [10] They were tied on points with the MI New York, but could not advance to the play-offs due to their negative net run arte.

2024 season

In December 2023, it was announced that the second season of the tournament would begin on July 4, 2024, four days after the conclusion of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. [11] The date was later moved to July 5. [12]

On February 15, 2024, the retained overseas players' Harris Rauf and Finn Allen Retained. On March 1, 2024, the domestic player retention list was announced. Corey Anderson Liam Plunkett, Carmi le Roux, Brody Couch, Sanjay Krishnamurthi were among the domestic players that were retained. [13]

The domestic players' draft was virtually held on March 21, 2024, with a total of 20 players being picked by the teams over 10 rounds. [14] An additional draft is scheduled for June 16 in order for teams to complete their squads. [15]

Hassan Khan, Tajinder Singh ,Karima Gore and Jahmar Hamilton were prominent names picked in the domestic round of the draft. [16]

Matthew Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Henry and Josh Inglis were also announced as direct overseas signing by the Unicorns for their second season. [17] [18]

In June 2024, the team announced direct signing of Australia Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins. After signing a four-year contract with the team, Cummins is expected to fill in the leadership vacuum at the Unicorns after Aaron Finch's retirement. [19] He was subsequently announced as the captain.

Pat Cummins has signed a four-year contract with San Francisco Unicorns, becoming one of the highest-profile players on the roster of a Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise. [20]

Current squad

San Francisco Unicorns roster
PositionNameNationality [lower-alpha 1] Date of birth (age)Batting styleBowling styleYear signedNotes
Batters Finn Allen Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand April 22, 1999 (age 25)Right-handedRight-arm off-break 2023Direct signing
Matthew Short Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia November 8, 1995 (age 28)Right-handedRight-arm off-break 2024Direct signing
Jake Fraser-McGurk Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia April 11, 2002 (age 22)Right-handedRight-arm leg break 2024Direct signing
Sherfane Rutherford WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 15 August 1998 (age 25)Left-handedRight-arm fast medium 2024Direct signing
All-rounders Corey Anderson Flag of the United States.svg  United States December 13, 1990 (age 33)Left-handedLeft-arm medium-fast 2023
Karima Gore Flag of the United States.svg  United States June 25, 1998 (age 26)Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2024
Sanjay Krishnamurthi Flag of the United States.svg  United States June 2, 2003 (age 21)Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2023U23 player
Tajinder Singh Flag of India.svg  India May 25, 1992 (age 32)Right-handedRight-arm off-break 2024Released and re-drafted in 2024
Wicket-keepers Jahmar Hamilton WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies September 22, 1990 (age 33)Right-handed—2024
Josh Inglis Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia March 4, 1994 (age 30)Right-handed—2024Direct signing
Bowlers Pat Cummins Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 8 March 1993 (age 31)Right-handedRight arm fast 2024Direct signing; Captain
Brody Couch Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia December 5, 1999 (age 24)Left-handedRight-arm medium 2023
Carmi le Roux Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa March 30, 1993 (age 31)Right-handedLeft-arm medium-fast 2023
Hassan Khan Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan October 16, 1998 (age 25)Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2024
Liam Plunkett Flag of England.svg  England April 6, 1985 (age 39)Right-handedRight-arm fast 2023
Haris Rauf Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan November 7, 1993 (age 30)Right-handedRight-arm fast 2023Direct signing
Matt Henry Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 14 December 1991 (age 32)Right-handedRight-arm fast 2024Direct signing
Abrar Ahmed Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 16 October 1998 (age 25)Right-handedRight-arm leg break 2024Direct signing

Administration and support staff

San Francisco Unicorns staff
PositionName
Head coach Shane Watson

Seasons

Seasons

YearLeague standingFinal standing
2023 5th out of 6League stage

Season summary

YearPlayedWinsLossesTies/NR
2023 5230
Source: ESPNCricinfo [21]

Note:

Notes

  1. ↑ Nationality refers to the national team that the player represents currently or the one they would be most likely to represent.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Finch</span> Australian cricketer

Aaron James Finch is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer who served as the captain of the Australian cricket team in ODI and T20I cricket. Finch currently holds the record for two of the three highest individual scores in Twenty20 Internationals (T20I), his score of 172 against Zimbabwe in July 2018 beating his previous record of 156 against England in 2013. Finch was a part of the Australian team that won the 2015 Cricket World Cup, and six years later as Australia's captain, Finch also led Australia to win the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which was the maiden T20 World Cup title for the country. In July 2018, he became the first player to reach 900 rating points on the official International Cricket Council (ICC) T20I rankings. He made his Test debut for Australia in October 2018. He is also a part time commentator with Fox Cricket and Triple M. Finch has played domestically for Victoria and Melbourne Renegades. He is an opening batter, and occasional left arm orthodox spinner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Prairie Stadium</span> Sports stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, US

Grand Prairie Stadium is a cricket ground and former ballpark in Grand Prairie, Texas. Opened in May 2008, it served as the home stadium of the Texas AirHogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball from 2008 through 2019, and of the USL League Two soccer team Texas United from 2017 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolkata Knight Riders</span> Indian cricket franchise

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are a professional franchise cricket team representing the city of Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and her spouse Jay Mehta. Their home ground is the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata.

Juan "Rusty" Theron is a South African-American professional cricketer. He played for the Warriors cricket team in South African domestic cricket and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League and for the South Africa national team. He is a right-arm fast bowler and bats right-handed. He retired from South African domestic cricket on 8 October 2015, following a spate of knee injuries. In 2019, he qualified to represent the United States cricket team in international matches, after fulfilling the International Cricket Council's three-year residency rule. He represented the United States in a One Day International (ODI) match in September 2019. He is known as "Rusty," due to the reddish-brown color of his hair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andre Russell</span> Jamaican cricketer

Andre Dwayne Russell, also called Dre Russ, is a Jamaican cricketer who has played international cricket for West Indies and for Jamaica in domestic cricket as an all-rounder. He currently plays in various T20 leagues around the world. Russell was part of 2012 and 2016 ICC World T20 winning West Indies teams. He has played in more than 300 T20 matches for a range of sides in leagues.

Milind Kumar is an Indian-born cricketer who currently plays for the United States national cricket team. Previously, he played for Delhi and Sikkim in Indian domestic cricket. He is a right-hand batsman and an occasional off-break bowler.

Nicholas Pooran is a Trinidadian cricketer who currently represents the West Indies cricket team in limited overs formats and occasionally serves as the team's captain. He also competes domestically for Trinidad and Tobago and plays for the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pooran made his international debut for the West Indies in September 2016. In May 2022, he was appointed captain of the West Indies limited-overs team. However, he stepped down from the captaincy in November 2022. Pooran has played 29 matches in the T10 format, scoring 953 runs in 28 innings. His highest score in T10 cricket is 101, and he has recorded 1 century and 7 half-centuries in the format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lungi Ngidi</span> South African cricketer

Lungisani True-man Ngidi is a South African professional cricketer who plays for the South Africa national cricket team. In the 2018 South African Cricket Annual Awards, he was named as one of the five Cricketers of the Year. In July 2020, Ngidi was named both ODI and T20I cricketer of the year at Cricket South Africa's annual awards ceremony.

Timothy Hays David is a Singaporean and Australian cricketer. He played for the Singapore national cricket team between 2019 and 2020, before switching allegiance to Australia in 2022. He was part of the Australian team's squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup. He has played for various Twenty20 franchise teams. He made his international debut for Singapore in July 2019 and played 14 T20Is making his debut for Australia in 2022 against India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major League Cricket</span> Main American Twenty20 cricket league

Major League Cricket (MLC), also known as Cognizant Major League Cricket for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league that is played in the United States. Operated by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) and sanctioned by USA Cricket, it began play on July 13, 2023, with six teams representing major US cities under a single-entity model. The first season took place over three weeks at Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, concluding on July 30, 2023. In 2021, the development league for MLC, Minor League Cricket (MiLC), completed its inaugural season, which was contested by 27 franchise-based teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minor League Cricket</span> Developmental American Twenty20 cricket league affiliated with Major League Cricket

Minor League Cricket is an American Twenty20 cricket developmental league for Major League Cricket which completed its first season in 2021, after it was delayed from a mid-to-late 2020 start due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It consists of 26 teams from four regions. The league began its regional draft process in late-August 2020, and a series of exhibition games in September 2020. The draft for the league began on June 4, 2021. The Strikers won the inaugural finals against the New Jersey Stallions by six wickets, with the Thunderbolts winning the 2022 finals against the Atlanta Fire by ten runs.

The 2023 Major League Cricket season was the inaugural season of Major League Cricket, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league established in 2019 by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) in the United States. The season was hosted at two venues, Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina. The season was played from 13 to 30 July 2023, with MI New York defeating the Seattle Orcas by seven wickets to win the inaugural title.

The 2023 Major League Cricket players' draft took place on March 19, 2023, at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Super Kings</span> Texas-based cricket franchise

The Texas Super Kings is an American professional Twenty20 cricket team that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). The team is based in Grand Prairie, Texas and was announced in 2023 as one of six inaugural teams to play in Major League Cricket. The team has two minor league affiliates – the Dallas Mustangs and the Dallas Xforia Giants, which both compete in Minor League Cricket alongside 24 other teams. The franchise is co-owned by the Chennai Super Kings Cricket, Ross Perot Jr., and Anurag Jain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Freedom (cricket)</span> Washington-based cricket franchise

The Washington Freedom are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). The team plans to be based in Washington, D.C. and was announced in 2023 as one of six inaugural franchises to play in Major League Cricket. The Freedom is owned by Indian American entrepreneur Sanjay Govil. The team is coached by Ricky Ponting and is captained by Steve Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle Orcas</span> Seattle-based cricket franchise

The Seattle Orcas are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). The team plans to be based in Seattle, Washington and was announced in 2023 as one of six inaugural franchises to play in Major League Cricket. The Seattle Orcas are owned by an investor group including Satya Nadella, Soma Somasegar, Samir Bodas, Ashok Krishnamurthi, and Sanjay Parthasarathy—and the GMR Group. The Orcas have a minor league affiliate called the Seattle Thunderbolts, who play in Minor League Cricket and were the 2022 champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MI New York</span> New York-based cricket franchise

MI New York is an American professional Twenty20 cricket team that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). The team is based out of New York City, New York, and was established in June 2023 as one of six inaugural teams to compete in the tournament. The team has a minor league affiliate, the Manhattan Yorkers, which competes alongside 25 other teams in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is owned by Indiawin Sports, who also owns teams that compete in the IPL, SA20, and ILT20. During the 2023 season, the team defeated Seattle in the finals to take home the inaugural title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Knight Riders</span> Los Angeles-based cricket franchise

The Los Angeles Knight Riders, otherwise known as the LA Knight Riders, are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). The team plans to be based in Los Angeles, California and was originally announced in 2020 as a team to play in Major League Cricket. The franchise is owned by the Knight Riders Group, a sporting subsidiary alliance between the Red Chillies Entertainment and the Mehta Group.

The 2024 Major League Cricket season is the second season of Major League Cricket, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league established in 2019 by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) in the United States. The season is being hosted, as was the case of the previous season, at two venues: Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina. The tournament began from 5 July to and the final is scheduled to be held on 28 July 2024, with MI New York as the defending champions.

The 2024 Major League Cricket players' draft was held on March 21, 2024, ahead of the 2024 Major League Cricket season. An additional "supplementary" draft was held on June 18, 2024 to complete the squads. Both drafts were held virtually and not broadcast. Recaps of the event were released by the Major League Cricket via their social media platforms.

References

  1. 1 2 Kassel, Ethan (March 17, 2023). "Meet San Francisco's Newest Pro Sports Team, the Unicorns". The San Francisco Standard . Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  2. ↑ Peter Della Penna (March 18, 2023). "USA T20 franchise league MLC projected to spend $110 million on facilities ahead of 2023 launch". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "San Francisco unveil Unicorns in Major League Cricket". Cricket Victoria . March 18, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  4. ↑ Nguyen, Kevin V. (November 17, 2022). "San Francisco Is Getting its Own Major League Cricket Team". The San Francisco Standard . Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  5. ↑ "SAN FRANCISCO UNICORNS CHARGE INTO MAJOR LEAGUE CRICKET". Major League Cricket . March 17, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  6. ↑ Penna, Peter Della (March 20, 2023). "Finch first overseas signing at MLC draft, named San Francisco Unicorns captain". ESPNCricinfo . Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  7. ↑ Savage, Nic (March 20, 2023). "Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh sign on for inaugural Major League Cricket tournament". Fox Sports . Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  8. ↑ Lewis, Simon (May 28, 2023). "Lungi Ngidi signs for San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket". Bets.co.za. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  9. ↑ @SFOUnicorns (June 20, 2023). "Coach Watto. A cricketing icon with a championship DNA, @ShaneRWatson33 will be at the helm as our Head Coach. Let's give him a #SparkleArmy welcome #SFOUnicorns #MLC2023 #MajorLeagueCricket" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 June 2023– via Twitter.
  10. ↑ "Points Table–2023 Season". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  11. ↑ "MLC 2024 set for July 4 start". Cricbuzz. 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  12. ↑ "MLC". www.majorleaguecricket.com. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  13. ↑ "INTERNATIONAL T20 SUPERSTARS RETURNING FOR MLC SEASON TWO". Major League Cricket. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  14. ↑ "2024 MLC Domestic Draft Results". Major League Cricket. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  15. ↑ Sagar, Singh (21 March 2024). "MLC Domestic Draft: Hassan Khan, Joshua Tromp draw top dollars. Smit Patel unsold". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  16. ↑ "2024 MLC Domestic Draft Results". Major League Cricket. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  17. ↑ Sagar, Singh (21 March 2024). "Texas Super Kings snap up Mitchell for MLC 2024, Shepherd goes to MI New York". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  18. ↑ @SFOUnicorns (13 April 2024). "From Melbourne to Delhi, Jake Fraser-McGurk is making big waves! And now he brings his talents to the Unicorns" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 April 2024– via Twitter.
  19. ↑ "MLC 2024: Pat Cummins set to represent San Francisco Unicorns marking his debut in T20 League". Crictracker.com. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  20. ↑ "Pat Cummins signs four-year deal with MLC's San Francisco Unicorns". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  21. ↑ "Major league Cricket Points Table". ESPNCricinfo . February 6, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.