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San Francisco Unicorns

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San Francisco Unicorns
San Francisco Unicorns Logo
LeagueMajor League Cricket
Personnel
CaptainCorey Anderson
CoachShane Watson
OwnerAnand Rajaraman
Venky Harinarayan
Team information
CitySan Francisco, California, United States (planned)
ColoursOrange and Blue
Founded2023 (2023)
Home groundSanta Clara County Fairgrounds Stadium (planned)
Capacity15,000 (planned)
Official websitewww.sfunicorns.com

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.

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

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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.

2023 season

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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

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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

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  • Players with international caps are listed in bold.
San Francisco Unicorns roster
Position Name Nationality[a] Date of birth (age) Batting style Bowling style Year signed Notes
Batters Finn Allen  New Zealand (1999-04-22) April 22, 1999 (age 25) Right-handed Right-arm off-break 2023 Direct signing
Matthew Short  Australia (1995-11-08) November 8, 1995 (age 28) Right-handed Right-arm off-break 2024 Direct signing
Jake Fraser-McGurk  Australia (2002-04-11) April 11, 2002 (age 22) Right-handed Right-arm leg break 2024 Direct signing
Sherfane Rutherford  West Indies (1998-08-15) 15 August 1998 (age 26) Left-handed Right-arm fast medium 2024 Direct signing
All-rounders Corey Anderson  United States (1990-12-13) December 13, 1990 (age 33) Left-handed Left-arm medium-fast 2023 Captain
Karima Gore  United States (1998-06-25) June 25, 1998 (age 26) Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2024
Sanjay Krishnamurthi  United States (2003-06-02) June 2, 2003 (age 21) Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2023 U23 player
Tajinder Singh  India (1992-05-25) May 25, 1992 (age 32) Right-handed Right-arm off-break 2024 Released and re-drafted in 2024
Wicket-keepers Jahmar Hamilton  West Indies (1990-09-22) September 22, 1990 (age 34) Right-handed — 2024
Josh Inglis  Australia (1994-03-04) March 4, 1994 (age 30) Right-handed — 2024 Direct signing
Bowlers Pat Cummins  Australia (1993-03-08) 8 March 1993 (age 31) Right-handed Right arm fast 2024 Direct signing;
Brody Couch  Australia (1999-12-05) December 5, 1999 (age 24) Left-handed Right-arm medium 2023
Carmi le Roux  South Africa (1993-03-30) March 30, 1993 (age 31) Right-handed Left-arm medium-fast 2023
Hassan Khan  Pakistan (1998-10-16) October 16, 1998 (age 25) Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 2024
Liam Plunkett  England (1985-04-06) April 6, 1985 (age 39) Right-handed Right-arm fast 2023
Haris Rauf  Pakistan (1993-11-07) November 7, 1993 (age 30) Right-handed Right-arm fast 2023 Direct signing
Matt Henry  New Zealand (1991-12-14) 14 December 1991 (age 32) Right-handed Right-arm fast 2024 Direct signing
Abrar Ahmed  Pakistan (1998-10-16) 16 October 1998 (age 25) Right-handed Right-arm leg break 2024 Direct signing

Administration and support staff

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San Francisco Unicorns staff
Position Name
Head coach Shane Watson

Seasons

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Seasons

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Year League standing Final standing
2023 5th out of 6 League stage
  •   C: champions
  •   RU: runner-up
  •   SF team qualified for the semi-final stage of the competition

Season summary

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Year Played Wins Losses Ties/NR
2023 5 2 3 0
Source: ESPNCricinfo[21]

Note:

  • NR indicates No result.
  • Abandoned matches are indicated as no result.

Notes

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

References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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.
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