Silicon Valley Strikers

Last updated

Silicon Valley Strikers
Silicon Valley Strikers Logo.png
League Minor League Cricket
ConferenceWestern Division (Pacific Conference)
Personnel
Captain Unmukt Chand
OwnerStanford Strikers LLC
Team information
City Silicon Valley, California
Colours  Cyan, and   Blue.
Founded2020;4 years ago (2020)
Home groundMorgan Hills Outdoor Sports Complex
History
MiLC  wins1 (2021)
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm.svg
Kit trousers long.png

T20 kit

The Silicon Valley Strikers are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that compete in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Silicon Valley, California. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. [1] The franchise is owned by Stanford Strikers LLC. [2]

Contents

The team's home ground is Morgan Hills Outdoor Sports Complex, located in Morgan Hill, California. [3] Pranay Suri was named as captain for the 2023 Minor league season, replacing Unmukt Chand. [4]

The current leading run-scorer is Unmukt Chand, [5] with the highest wicket-taker being Pranay Suri. [6]

Franchise history

Background

Talks of an American Twenty20 league started in November 2018 just before USA Cricket became the new governing body of cricket in the United States. [7] [8] In May 2021, USA Cricket announced they had accepted a bid by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) for a US$1 billion investment covering the league and other investments benefitting the U.S. national teams. [9]

In an Annual General Meeting on February 21, 2020, it was announced that USA Cricket was planning to launch Major League Cricket in 2021 and Minor League Cricket that summer, [10] but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic [11] and due to the lack of high-quality cricket stadiums in the USA. [12] Major League Cricket was pushed to a summer-2023 launch [13] and Minor League Cricket was pushed back to July 31, 2021. [14]

USA Cricket CEO Iain Higgins also pointed out cities such as New York City, Houston and Los Angeles with a large cricket fanbase, and targeted them among others as launch cities for Minor League Cricket. [15]

Exhibition league

In July 2020, the player registration for the Minor League Cricket exhibition league began. [16] On August 15, 2020, USA Cricket announced the teams participating in the exhibition league matches, also listing the owners for each team. [17] The draft for the exhibition league began on August 22, 2020, [18] with the Silicon Valley Strikers releasing their squad on August 24. [19] Shadley van Schalkwyk was later named as captain for the Silicon Valley Strikers in the exhibition league. [19]

2021 season

After the conclusion of the exhibition league, USA Cricket announced that they were planning to launch the inaugural season of Minor League Cricket in spring 2021. [20] Ahead of the official season, which was announced to kick off on July 31, [21] they announced Unmukt Chand as captain and Pranay Suri as vice-captain (although originally Suri was captain, due to Chand not being called in the squad until the third week [22] ). [4]

In their first match of the season, the Strikers defeated the Thunderbolts by 2 wickets. [23] They then went on to win against the Master Blasters, [24] the Surf Riders twice, [25] [26] the Blazers twice, [25] the Lashings, [27] the Grizzlies twice, [26] [27] and the Thunderbolts again. [28] [29] They additionally lost against the Lashings, [23] the Master Blasters, [30] and the Thunderbolts [31] throughout the group stage. They placed 2nd in their group, thus qualifying the Strikers for the quarter-finals. [32]

In the quarter-finals, the Strikers won against the Austin Athletics in a best-of-3 series 2-1, qualifying them for the semi-finals. [33] During the semi-finals, the Strikers bowled out the Grizzlies for 135 to win by 33 runs and take them to the finals. [34] In the finals, they won against the Stallions by 6 wickets to win their maiden MiLC title. [35]

2022 season

Ahead of the 2022 season, Major League Cricket announced that the draft for that season would take place on May 12. [36]

Current squad

NameNationalityBirth dateBatting styleBowling styleYear signedNotes
Batsmen
Arsh BuchFlag of the United States.svg  United States 22 October 1994 (age 29)Right-handedRight-arm medium 2021
Narsingh Deonarine Flag of Guyana.svg  Guyana 16 August 1983 (age 41)Left-handedRight-arm off-break 2020Overseas
Rohith RamkumarFlag of the United States.svg  United States 18 January 1985 (age 39)Right-handedRight-arm medium 2021
Roshon Primus Flag of Barbados.svg  Barbados 14 August 1995 (age 29)Right-handedLeft-arm medium 2021Overseas
Unmukt Chand Flag of India.svg  India 26 March 1993 (age 31)Right-handedRight-arm off-break 2021Overseas captain
All-rounders
Anoop KrishnanFlag of the United States.svg  United States 6 March 1987 (age 37)Right-handedRight-arm medium 2021
Dev ThadaniFlag of the United States.svg  United States 17 September 1998 (age 25)Right-handedRight-arm medium 2021
Dilpreet BillingFlag of the United States.svg  United States 15 July 1991 (age 33)Right-handedRight-arm fast 2020
Gary Graham Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 6 August 1982 (age 42)Right-handedRight-arm medium 2020Overseas
Pranay SuriFlag of the United States.svg  United States 22 December 1992 (age 31)Right-handedRight-arm off-break 2020 Vice-captain
Rushil UgarkarFlag of the United States.svg  United States 30 June 2003 (age 21)Right-handedRight-arm fast medium 2021
Shehan Jayasuriya Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 12 September 1991 (age 32)Left-handedRight-arm off break 2021Overseas
Srinivas RaghavanFlag of the United States.svg  United States 4 December 1992 (age 31)Right-handedRight-arm off break 2020
Umang ParikhFlag of the United States.svg  United States 24 March 1993 (age 31)Left-handedLeft-arm Spin 2021
Bowlers
Abhishek Paradkar Flag of the United States.svg  United States 8 November 2000 (age 23)Left-handedLeft-handed medium 2021
Kulvinder SinghFlag of the United States.svg  United States 25 April 1983 (age 41)Right-handedLeft-arm medium 2021
Saurabh Netravalkar Flag of the United States.svg  United States 16 October 1991 (age 32)Right-handedLeft-arm medium 2021
Wicket-keepers
Rahul Jariwala Flag of the United States.svg  United States 3 June 2004 (age 20)Right-handed2020

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unmukt Chand</span> Indian cricketer

Unmukt Chand is a former Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed top order batsman who currently plays for the Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket, and the Melbourne Renegades in Australia's Big Bash League. He has played for Delhi and Uttarakhand in Indian domestic cricket tournaments, the Mumbai Indians & the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, and the India Under-19 cricket team, who he captained to victory in the 2012 U-19 Cricket World Cup. In August 2021, Chand announced his retirement from playing cricket in India.

The New England Eagles are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Boston. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket.

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

The 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle Thunderbolts</span> Seattle-based cricket team in Minor League Cricket

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Hurricanes (cricket)</span> Houston-based cricket team in Minor League Cricket

The Houston Hurricanes are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that compete in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Houston, Texas. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. The franchise is owned by Tanweer Ahmed and Mangesh Chaudhari.

The 2021 Minor League Cricket final was a Twenty20 cricket match played on 3 October 2021, at Church Street Park, Morrisville between the New Jersey Stallions and the Silicon Valley Strikers to determine the winner of the 2021 Minor League Cricket season of Minor League Cricket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Lashings</span> Los Angeles-based Professional Cricket Organization

The Los Angeles Lashings are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team from Los Angeles that competes in Minor League Cricket (MiLC) and other T20 Cricket tournaments across the USA. Los Angeles Lashings was named in 2020 as part of the 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket USA. The franchise is co-owned by Abhimanyu Rajp and Deepak Gosain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore Royals</span> Washington DC-based cricket team in Minor League Cricket

The Baltimore Royals are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that compete in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Baltimore, Maryland. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. The franchise is currently owned by Rajit Passey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey Stallions (cricket)</span> New Jersey-based cricket team in Minor League Cricket

The New Jersey Stallions are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Somerset, New Jersey. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. The team is co-owned by businessmen Venu Palaparthi and Ravikumar Suri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood Master Blasters</span> Los Angeles-based cricket team in Minor League Cricket

The Hollywood Master Blasters was an American professional Twenty20 cricket franchise that competed in Minor League Cricket (MiLC) till the 2022 season. The team was based in Los Angeles, California. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. The franchise is owned by Janak Patel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Surf Riders</span> Minor League Cricket team in San Diego, California

The San Diego Surf Riders are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team based in San Diego, California, that competes in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team's home ground is Canyonside Park, located in the community of Rancho Peñasquitos. The Surf Riders began play in the 2021 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden State Grizzlies</span> Sacramento-based cricket team in Minor League Cricket

The Golden State Grizzlies are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that compete in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Sacramento, California. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. The franchise is owned by ACE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay Blazers</span> Sacramento-based cricket team in Minor League Cricket

The East Bay Blazers are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that compete in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in San Jose, California. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. The franchise is owned by Biju Nair and Vivek Tummalapalli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lone Star Athletics</span> Austin-based cricket team in Minor League Cricket

The Lone Star Athletics are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that compete in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Houston, Texas. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. The franchise is owned by Kuldeep Patel and Sakhi Muhammad.

The Chicago Kingsmen are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that compete in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Chicago, Illinois. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. The franchise was owned by Iftekhar Shareef until the team's acquisition by Fawad Sarwar of the Kingsmen Global Sports Group. The franchise is currently run by Salman Abbasi and Mohammad Iqra Farooqui, with Khurram Syed also associated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Catchers</span> Chicago-based cricket team in Minor League Cricket

The Chicago Catchers were an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competed in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team was based in Chicago, Illinois. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket. The franchise was owned by the Cricket Management Group, LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Tigers (cricket)</span> Chicago-based cricket team in Minor League Cricket

The Chicago Tigers are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that compete in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Chicago, Illinois. It was formed in 2022 as part of 3 new teams to play in the 2022 season of Minor League Cricket. The franchise is owned by Raiders Unlimited.

<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">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.

References

  1. ↑ "Minor League Cricket Announces Franchise Owners and Draft Owners". USA Cricket . August 15, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  2. ↑ Hays, Nate (August 18, 2020). "Minor League Cricket announces teams and owners list, draft on August 22, exhibition games tentative". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Minor League Division Preview Series - Western". Major League Cricket . August 1, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Pre-Draft Selections Confirmed by 21 Minor League Cricket Teams as Draft Day Looms". USA Cricket . June 4, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Silicon Valley Strikers Batting - Minor League Cricket". CricClubs.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Silicon Valley Strikers Bowling - Minor League Cricket". CricClubs.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  7. ↑ Penna, Peter Della (January 8, 2019). "USA formally approved to rejoin ICC as Associate Member under USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  8. ↑ Penna, Peter Della (November 27, 2018). "USA plan to launch their T20 League in 2021". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  9. ↑ "USA Cricket Chooses Partner to Fund and Develop U.S.-Based Professional T20 Cricket League". USA Cricket . May 23, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  10. ↑ "USA Cricket Board Meeting February 2020". USA Cricket . February 27, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  11. ↑ "USA Cricket re-evaluating Major League Cricket debut timing due to Covid-19 concerns". SportBusiness. August 2, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  12. ↑ "American Major League Cricket tournament launch pushed to 2023 at Annual General Meeting". Inside the Games . May 24, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  13. ↑ Penna, Peter Della (May 21, 2021). "USA's MLC T20 tournament pushed back to 2023 at AGM". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  14. ↑ Penna, Peter Della (July 30, 2021). "Minor League Cricket: T20 league in USA kicks off with Sami Aslam, Corey Anderson in the mix". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  15. ↑ Penna, Peter Della (February 27, 2020). "New York, Boston, Chicago, LA among 22 targeted launch cities for USA T20 competition". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Minor League Cricket Announces Player Registration Opening". USA Cricket . July 7, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Minor League Cricket Announces Franchise Owners and Draft Update". USA Cricket . August 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Inaugural Minor League Cricket Draft to Take Place Today". USA Cricket . August 22, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Minor League Cricket Draft results with 15 Squads Selected". USA Cricket . August 24, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  20. ↑ "USA Cricket Launches Foundational Plan". USA Cricket . October 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  21. ↑ "American Cricket History to be Made on Minor League Cricket Opening Weekend". Major League Cricket . USA Cricket. July 29, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Unmukt Chand Signs Multi-Year Agreement with Major League Cricket". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. August 13, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  23. 1 2 "The Monday All Rounder - Opening Weekend". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. August 2, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  24. ↑ "The Monday All Rounder - Week Two". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. August 9, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  25. 1 2 "The Monday All Rounder - Week 3". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. August 16, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  26. 1 2 Patel, Smit (September 2, 2021). "Minor Cricket League Week 5: Ricardo Powell turns back the clock". CricBuzz. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  27. 1 2 "Minor League Cricket 2021: Unmukt Chand scores a match-winning 56* for his team Silicon Valley Strikers". CricTracker.com. August 23, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  28. ↑ "The Tuesday All Rounder - Week Six". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. September 7, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  29. ↑ Mehta, Nilesh (September 13, 2021). "The rise of cricket in the United States of America". Sportstar . Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  30. ↑ "The Monday All Rounder - Week Five". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. August 30, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  31. ↑ "The Monday All Rounder - Week Seven". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. September 13, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  32. ↑ "The Monday All Rounder - Week Eight". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. September 20, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Unmukt Chand smashes 69-ball 132 to help team chase down 190, makes waves in America's Minor League Cricket". India Today . September 29, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Inaugural Minor League Cricket Champion to be Crowned this Weekend". Major League Cricket . USA Cricket. September 30, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  35. ↑ Paynter, Jack (December 7, 2021). "'Liberated' Indian star on the verge of BBL history". Cricket Australia . Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Title and Presenting Partners Announced for 2022 Minor League Cricket Championship". Minor League Cricket . Major League Cricket. May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
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.