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.[1] The franchise is owned by Seattle Sports LLC, as part of its cricket development program, owned by Phani Chitneni, Vijay Beniwal, and Salman Taj.[2]
 | ||
| League | Minor League Cricket | |
|---|---|---|
| Conference | Western Division (Pacific Conference) | |
| Personnel | ||
| Captain | Harmeet Singh | |
| Owner | Seattle Sports LLC Phani Chitneni Vijay Beniwal Salman Taj | |
| Chief executive | Phani Chitneni Vijay Beniwal Salman Taj | |
| Team information | ||
| City | Seattle, Washington | |
| Colours | Pink, and Blue. | |
| Founded | 2021 | |
| Home ground | Klahanie Park, Klahanie, Washington Marymoor Park, Redmond, Washington | |
| History | ||
| MiLC wins | 1 (2022) | |
| ||
The team's home ground is Klahanie Park and Marymoor Park, both located in the Eastside region of King County, Washington.[3] Harmeet Singh was named as captain, while Andries Gous was named as vice-captain for the team.[4]
The current leading run-scorer is Andries Gous,[5] with the highest wicket-taker being Shadley van Schalkwyk.[6]
Franchise history
editBackground
editTalks 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 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]
2021 season
editBefore the season's drafting, USA Cricket and American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) announced 3 new teams for the 2021 season including the Seattle Thunderbolts, the Manhattan Yorkers, and the St. Louis Americans.[16] Ahead of the official season, which was announced to kick off on July 31,[17] they announced Harmeet Singh as captain and Andries Gous as vice-captain.[2]
For their first four matches of the season, they lost by a margin of 7, 6, 2, and 7 wickets,[18][19][20] before going on a 6-match winning streak.[21][22] Their winning streak was ended due to a 46-run loss against the Michigan Cricket Stars.[23] They then lost back-to-back matches against the Golden State Grizzlies and the East Bay Blazers,[24] before winning by 7 wickets against the Silicon Valley Strikers in their last match of the season.[25]
They ended off the group stage with 7 wins and 7 losses, ending up in 4th place in their division, thus not qualifying for the finals.[26]
2022 season
editAhead of the 2022 season, Major League Cricket announced that the draft for that season would take place on May 12.[27]
Current squad
edit- Players with international caps are listed in bold.
| Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Year signed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | ||||||
| Andries Gous |  United States |
24 November 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm off spin | 2021 | Overseas Vice-captain |
| Deepak Rajendran | United States |
9 September 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2021 | |
| Harmeet Singh | United States |
7 September 1992 | Right-handed | Left-arm orthodox spin | 2021 | Overseas Captain |
| Karan Rao |  India |
1 August 1989 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | 2021 | Overseas |
| Manu Jacob | United States |
24 April 1984 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2021 | |
| Nital Vasavada | United States |
15 July 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2021 | |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| Abir Chippa | United States |
13 February 1995 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2021 | |
| Damodhar Bhat | United States |
17 December 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2021 | |
| Jagroop Raina | United States |
30 September 1998 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | 2021 | |
| Rishab Mohan | United States |
10 June 2003 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2021 | |
| Sahil Kancherla | United States |
25 April 2000 | Right-handed | Right-arm off spin | 2021 | |
| Shadley van Schalkwyk | United States |
5 August 1988 | Left-handed | Left-arm fast | 2021 | Overseas |
| Ujjawal Patel | United States |
19 July 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast medium | 2021 | |
| Varun Potlapally | United States |
9 April 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2021 | |
| Phani Simhadri | United States |
13 May 2002 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2021 | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| Mudi Prajith | India |
17 September 1989 | Right-handed | 2021 | Overseas | |
| Bowlers | ||||||
| Anirudh Srinivas | United States |
8 March 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2021 | |
| Manoj Panwar | United States |
5 June 1998 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2021 | |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "3 New Teams Confirmed For Minor League Cricket Ahead of Draft Day Friday June 4". Major League Cricket. USA Cricket. June 3, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ a b "New Major League Cricket Center Established in Seattle". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. July 27, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Minor League Division Preview Series - Western". Major League Cricket. August 1, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Former India Under-19 World Cup Winner Harmeet Singh from Indian Cricket, Moves to MLC in USA". Cricket Addictor. August 24, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Seattle Thunderbolts Batting - Minor League Cricket". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Seattle Thunderbolts Bowling - Minor League Cricket". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ Penna, Peter Della (January 8, 2019). "USA formally approved to rejoin ICC as Associate Member under USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ Penna, Peter Della (November 27, 2018). "USA plan to launch their T20 League in 2021". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ "USA Cricket Chooses Partner to Fund and Develop U.S.-Based Professional T20 Cricket League". USA Cricket. May 23, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ "USA Cricket Board Meeting February 2020". USA Cricket. February 27, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ "USA Cricket re-evaluating Major League Cricket debut timing due to Covid-19 concerns". SportBusiness. August 2, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ "American Major League Cricket tournament launch pushed to 2023 at Annual General Meeting". Inside the Games. May 24, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ Penna, Peter Della (May 21, 2021). "USA's MLC T20 tournament pushed back to 2023 at AGM". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ 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 September 16, 2021.
- ^ Penna, Peter Della (February 27, 2020). "New York, Boston, Chicago, LA among 22 targeted launch cities for USA T20 competition". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
- ^ "Minor League Cricket 2021 Draft To Take Place On Friday". Major League Cricket. June 3, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "American Cricket History to be Made on Minor League Cricket Opening Weekend". Major League Cricket. USA Cricket. July 29, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "The Monday All Rounder - Opening Weekend". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. August 2, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Seattle Thunderbolts v. Silicon Valley Strikers (Match 20) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Seattle Thunderbolts v. San Diego Surf Riders (Match 34) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ Nielson, Tom (September 1, 2021). "Minor League Cricket Power Rankings - Week Five". Major League Cricket. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Seattle Thunderbolts v. St. Louis Americans (Match 164) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Michigan Cricket Stars v. Seattle Thunderbolts (Match 136) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ Nielson, Tom (September 9, 2021). "Pacific Conference Power Rankings - Week 6". Major League Cricket. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Silicon Valley Strikers v. Seattle Thunderbolts (Match 182) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "The Monday All Rounder - Week Eight". Major League Cricket. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Title and Presenting Partners Announced for 2022 Minor League Cricket Championship". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.