Seattle Thunderbolts

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]

Seattle Thunderbolts
LeagueMinor League Cricket
ConferenceWestern Division (Pacific Conference)
Personnel
CaptainHarmeet Singh
OwnerSeattle Sports LLC
Phani Chitneni
Vijay Beniwal
Salman Taj
Chief executivePhani Chitneni
Vijay Beniwal
Salman Taj
Team information
CitySeattle, Washington
Colours  Pink, and   Blue.
Founded2021 (2021)
Home groundKlahanie Park, Klahanie, Washington
Marymoor Park, Redmond, Washington
History
MiLC wins1 (2022)

T20 kit

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

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 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
See also: 2021 Minor League Cricket season § Pacific Conference

Before 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

Ahead of the 2022 season, Major League Cricket announced that the draft for that season would take place on May 12.[27]

Current squad
  • Players with international caps are listed in bold.
Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Year signed Notes
Batsmen
Andries Gous South Africa (1993-11-24) 24 November 1993Right-handedRight-arm off spin2021Overseas Vice-captain
Deepak Rajendran United States (1997-09-09) 9 September 1997Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Harmeet Singh India (1992-09-07) 7 September 1992Right-handedLeft-arm orthodox spin2021Overseas Captain
Karan Rao India (1989-08-01) 1 August 1989Left-handedRight-arm off break2021Overseas
Manu Jacob United States (1984-04-24) 24 April 1984Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Nital Vasavada United States (2001-07-15) 15 July 2001Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
All-rounders
Abir Chippa United States (1995-02-13) 13 February 1995Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Damodhar Bhat United States (1991-12-17) 17 December 1991Right-handedRight-arm off break2021
Jagroop Raina United States (1998-09-30) 30 September 1998Left-handedRight-arm medium2021
Rishab Mohan United States (2003-06-10) 10 June 2003Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Sahil Kancherla United States (2000-04-25) 25 April 2000Right-handedRight-arm off spin2021
Shadley van Schalkwyk South Africa (1988-08-05) 5 August 1988Left-handedLeft-arm fast2021Overseas
Ujjawal Patel United States (1992-07-19) 19 July 1992Right-handedRight-arm fast medium2021
Varun Potlapally United States (1997-04-09) 9 April 1997Right-handedRight-arm off break2021
Phani Simhadri United States (2002-05-13) 13 May 2002Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021
Wicket-keepers
Mudi Prajith India (1989-09-17) 17 September 1989Right-handed2021Overseas
Bowlers
Anirudh Srinivas United States (1997-03-08) 8 March 1997Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021
Manoj Panwar United States (1998-06-05) 5 June 1998Right-handedRight-arm fast2021

See also

References
  1. "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.
  2. "New Major League Cricket Center Established in Seattle". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. July 27, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  3. "Minor League Division Preview Series - Western". Major League Cricket. August 1, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  4. "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.
  5. "Seattle Thunderbolts Batting - Minor League Cricket". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  6. "Seattle Thunderbolts Bowling - Minor League Cricket". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  7. Penna, Peter Della (January 8, 2019). "USA formally approved to rejoin ICC as Associate Member under USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  8. Penna, Peter Della (November 27, 2018). "USA plan to launch their T20 League in 2021". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  9. "USA Cricket Chooses Partner to Fund and Develop U.S.-Based Professional T20 Cricket League". USA Cricket. May 23, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  10. "USA Cricket Board Meeting February 2020". USA Cricket. February 27, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  11. "USA Cricket re-evaluating Major League Cricket debut timing due to Covid-19 concerns". SportBusiness. August 2, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  12. "American Major League Cricket tournament launch pushed to 2023 at Annual General Meeting". Inside the Games. May 24, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  13. Penna, Peter Della (May 21, 2021). "USA's MLC T20 tournament pushed back to 2023 at AGM". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved September 16, 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 September 16, 2021.
  15. 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.
  16. "Minor League Cricket 2021 Draft To Take Place On Friday". Major League Cricket. June 3, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  17. "American Cricket History to be Made on Minor League Cricket Opening Weekend". Major League Cricket. USA Cricket. July 29, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  18. "The Monday All Rounder - Opening Weekend". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. August 2, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  19. "Seattle Thunderbolts v. Silicon Valley Strikers (Match 20) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  20. "Seattle Thunderbolts v. San Diego Surf Riders (Match 34) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  21. Nielson, Tom (September 1, 2021). "Minor League Cricket Power Rankings - Week Five". Major League Cricket. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  22. "Seattle Thunderbolts v. St. Louis Americans (Match 164) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  23. "Michigan Cricket Stars v. Seattle Thunderbolts (Match 136) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  24. Nielson, Tom (September 9, 2021). "Pacific Conference Power Rankings - Week 6". Major League Cricket. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  25. "Silicon Valley Strikers v. Seattle Thunderbolts (Match 182) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  26. "The Monday All Rounder - Week Eight". Major League Cricket. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  27. "Title and Presenting Partners Announced for 2022 Minor League Cricket Championship". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
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