League | Major League Cricket | |
---|---|---|
Personnel | ||
Captain | Wayne Parnell | |
Coach | Pravin Amre | |
Owner | Samir Bodas Ashok Krishnamurthi Satya Nadella Sanjay Parthasarathy S. Somasegar GMR Group | |
Team information | ||
City | Seattle, Washington, United States (planned) | |
Colours | Black, White, Light Green, and Orange | |
Founded | 2023 | |
Home ground | Marymoor Cricket Community Park (planned) | |
Capacity | 6,000 (planned) | |
|
The Seattle Orcas are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). [1] 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. [2] 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. [3] The Orcas have a minor league affiliate called the Seattle Thunderbolts, [4] who play in Minor League Cricket and were the 2022 champions. [5]
The team plans to have their home ground at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington. [6] The park's cricket ground is set to have a capacity of up to 6,000 people once it is completed around 2025. [7] The team is coached by former Indian cricketer Pravin Amre. [8]
In November 2021, the Bellevue City Council passed a resolution to support further research into the cost and feasibility for a cricket facility in Seattle. [9] This was followed by a similar resolution that the Redmond City Council adopted in January 2022. [10] A motion of support to develop a cricket facility in Marymoor Park was then passed by King County in February 2022. [6] [11] In May 2022, Major League Cricket announced that Somasegar and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella were among some of the lead investors launching Major League Cricket in the U.S. [12]
In March 2023, MLC unveiled the team ownership, name, and logo prior to the inaugural MLC domestic draft. [13] It was also announced that the team would partner with the GMR Group, who co-owns the Delhi Capitals of the Indian Premier League. [14] Co-owner Somasegar stated that the Orcas name and colors "pay tribute to our local community [of Seattle] that has helped build that spirit of support". [15] On May 27, 2023, it was revealed that the Orcas had revamped their logo to emphasize its focus on cricket. [16]
Prior to the launch of the official season, it was announced the MLC's inaugural domestic draft would take place on March 19, 2023. [17] The Orcas' had the first pick of the draft and selected Thunderbolts captain Harmeet Singh as their first overall draft pick, before adding the likes of Shehan Jayasuriya, Angelo Perera, and Shubham Ranjane in later draft selections. [18] In addition, Mitchell Marsh and Quinton de Kock were announced as some of the team's overseas signings during the draft. [19] Over the following months, several more overseas signings occurred, including the signings of Wayne Parnell, Dasun Shanaka, and Heinrich Klaasen – amongst others. [20] [21] [22]
The team also announced their lineup of support staff, with Johan Botha coming onboard as the team's bowling coach, Ross Taylor as the team's batting coach, Pravin Amre as the team's head coach, and Jarrod Harkness as the team analyst. [8]
Prior to the start of the season, Mitchell Marsh and Sikandar Raza – who were both included in the Orcas squad – withdrew from MLC due to it clashing with other tournaments such as the Ashes and the Zim Afro T10. [23]
In the start to their inaugural campaign, the Orcas' went top of the table by recording a 5-wicket win over the Washington Freedom, [24] a 35-run win over the San Francisco Unicorns, [25] [26] and an 8-wicket win over the Texas Super Kings. [27] The Orcas' winning streak was snapped, however, during a 2-wicket defeat to the Los Angeles Knight Riders. [28] A 2-wicket win over MI New York assured the Orcas' a first-place finish going into the finals nevertheless. [29]
Position | Name | Nationality | Date of birth (age) | Batting style | Bowling style | Year signed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batters | Shehan Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | September 12, 1991 | Left-handed | Right-arm off-break | 2023 | |
Nauman Anwar | Pakistan | October 12, 1995 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2023 | ||
All-rounders | Imad Wasim | Pakistan | December 18, 1988 | Left-handed | Slow Left-arm orthodox | 2023 | |
Harmeet Singh | United States | September 7, 1992 | Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox | 2023 | Vice-Captain | |
Shubham Ranjane | India | March 26, 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2023 | ||
Cameron Gannon | United States | January 23, 1989 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2023 | ||
Hammad Azam | Pakistan | March 16, 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2024 | ||
Ayan Desai | United States | April 3, 2002 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2024 | ||
Wicket-keepers | Quinton de Kock | South Africa | December 17, 1992 | Left-handed | 2023 | Direct signing | |
Heinrich Klaasen | South Africa | July 30, 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm off spin | 2023 | Direct signing | |
Bowlers | Wayne Parnell | South Africa | July 30, 1989 | Left-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | 2023 | Direct signing; Captain |
Nandre Burger | South Africa | August 11, 1995 | Left-handed | Left-arm fast | 2024 | Direct signing | |
Ali Sheikh | United States | February 23, 2003 | Left-handed | Slow Left-arm orthodox | 2024 | ||
Position | Name |
---|---|
Head coach | Pravin Amre |
Assistant coach | |
Assistant coach | |
Team manager | |
Strength and conditioning | |
High performance analyst | |
Physiotherapist |
Year | League standing | Final standing |
---|---|---|
2023 | 2nd out of 6 | Semifinals |
Year | Played | Wins | Losses | Tied/NR |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
Source: ESPNCricinfo [30] |
Note:
Sivaramakichenane Somasegar is an Indian-American technology business executive in the Greater Seattle Area. He is a Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, a venture capital firm based in Seattle. Somasegar joined Madrona in November 2015 after a 27-year career at Microsoft, where he most recently was corporate vice president of the developer division and overseeing the global distributed R&D centers at Microsoft.
Smart Choice Moosa Stadium is a cricket stadium in Pearland, Texas. The stadium is owned by Smart Choice, a former sponsor of the United States national cricket team. It is named after Smart Choice CEO Sakhi Muhammad’s father. It is home to American College Cricket.
Heinrich Klaasen is a South African cricketer who plays for the South African national cricket team in limited overs cricket. He was included in the Northerns cricket team for the 2015 Africa T20 Cup. In February 2021, Klaasen captained South Africa for the first time in a T20I match. On 21 March 2023, in a match against West Indies, Klaasen scored his second ODI century in 54 balls. Renowned for his adept power-hitting capabilities, he demonstrates proficiency as a wicketkeeper, coupled with exceptional prowess as a finisher within the contemporary cricketing landscape. His remarkable statistics against slow bowling, where he maintained a striking rate of 191 and achieved an average of 132 against spin during the 2023 IPL, have established him as a coveted asset for T20 franchises.
Major League Cricket (MLC) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league 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.
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 Seattle Thunderbolts are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that compete in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Seattle, Washington. It was formed in 2021 as part of 3 new teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. The franchise is owned by Seattle Sports LLC, as part of its cricket development program, owned by Phani Chitneni, Vijay Beniwal, and Salman Taj.
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The council unanimously supported further research into the cost and feasibility for a cricket facility ...
Redmond supports efforts to evaluate the opportunity to bring Major League Cricket to our region and the development of a multipurpose cricket facility ... supporting development of world class cricket infrastructure in the region to support the growth of cricket and provide greater opportunities ...