Baltimore Royals
LeagueMinor League Cricket
ConferenceEastern Division (Atlantic Conference)
ColoursOrange, and Dark Orange.
CaptainSunny Sohal
CityBaltimore, Maryland
Founded2020 (age 6)
OwnerRajit Passey
GroundVeterans Memorial Park
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The Baltimore Royals (formerly the DC Hawks) are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team based in the Washington metropolitan area that competes in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket.[1][2] The franchise is currently owned by Rajit Passey.[1]

The team's home ground is Veterans Memorial Park, located in Woodbridge, Virginia.[3] American international Sunny Sohal currently helms as captain, with former IPL cricketer Bipul Sharma standing by as vice-captain.[4][5]

Ravi Inder Singh tops the batting leaderboard for the team with 564 runs,[6] while Sarabjit Ladda tops the bowling team with 29 wickets.[7]

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.[8][9] 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.[10]

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,[11] but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic[12] and due to the lack of high-quality cricket stadiums in the USA.[13] Major League Cricket was pushed to a summer-2023 launch[14] and Minor League Cricket was pushed back to July 31, 2021.[15]

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.[16]

Exhibition league

In July 2020, the player registration for the Minor League Cricket exhibition league began.[17] On August 15, 2020, USA Cricket announced the teams participating in the exhibition league matches, also listing the owners for each team.[1] The draft for the exhibition league began on August 22, 2020,[18] with the DC Hawks releasing their squad on September 2.[19] Navin Stewart was later named as captain for the DC Hawks in the exhibition league.[19]

2021 season

See also: 2021 Minor League Cricket season#Atlantic Conference

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 Sunny Sohal as captain and Adil Bhatti as vice-captain.[4]

In their first match of the season, they beat the Florida Beamers by 65 runs, but lost to the New England Eagles by 33 runs the same day.[22] They then went on to win against the Philadelphians,[23] the Eagles twice,[24][25] the Titans,[26] the Stallions,[24] the Yorkers,[27] and the Cavaliers.[28] They additionally lost against the Philadelphians,[28] the Titans,[26] the Stallions,[24] the Yorkers,[29] the Cavaliers,[23] the Fire,[30] and the Param Veers.[25]

The Hawks placed 4th in their group, thus missing the quarter-finals.[29]

2022 season

See also: 2022 Minor League Cricket season#Atlantic Conference

Ahead of the 2022 season, Major League Cricket announced that the draft for that season would take place on May 12.[31] Ahead of the official season, it was announced that American international Sunny Sohal would continue to captain the team, with former IPL cricketer Bipul Sharma taking over the role of vice-captain following Adil Bhatti's departure to the Empire State Titans.[32]

Throughout the season, the Hawks lost twice against the Stallions, the Titans, and the Yorkers,[33] lost once against the runners-up Atlanta Fire,[34] won once and lost once against the Eagles and the Philadelphians,[35] won once against the Lions, and won twice against the Cavaliers.[36] Overall, the Hawks ended with a 5-9 win-loss record, securing them fifth in their division and unable to go to the play-offs.

2023 season

Before the start of the 2023 season, it was announced that the DC Hawks would undergo a name-change to the Baltimore Royals.[2]

Current squad

  • Players with international caps are listed in bold.
NameNationalityBirth dateBatting styleBowling styleYear signedNotes
Batsmen
Abdullah GhaziUnited Arab Emirates18 May 1988 (age 38)Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021Overseas
Franklin ClementUnited States21 April 1993 (age 33)Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Ritwik BeheraUnited States10 November 2003 (age 22)Right-handedRight-arm off break2021
Shehan PereraSL11 February 1987 (age 39)Right-handedRight-arm off break2021Overseas
Sunny SohalUnited States10 November 1987 (age 38)Right-handedRight-arm leg break2021Captain
Talal ZiaPakistan25 March 1986 (age 40)Right-handedRight-arm medium2021Overseas
All-rounders
Shukri RahimMalaysia6 October 1986 (age 39)Right-handedRight-arm off break2021Overseas
Adil BhattiUnited States28 October 1984 (age 41)Right-handedRight-arm medium2021Vice-captain
Dane PiedtSA6 March 1990 (age 36)Right-handedRight-arm off break2021Overseas
Ishan SharmaUnited States17 May 2003 (age 23)Right-handedRight-arm fast medium2021
Naseer IslamUnited States23 September 1972 (age 53)Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021
Rasesh BeheraUnited States30 August 2001 (age 24)Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Ravi Inder SinghIndia4 December 1987 (age 38)Left-handedRight-arm off break2021Overseas
Raviteja ReddyUnited States11 February 1993 (age 33)Right-handedRight-arm leg break2021
Sahil KapoorUnited States11 August 1986 (age 40)Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021
Waleed KarimullahUnited States8 June 1993 (age 33)Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Bowlers
Hassan KhanUnited States16 October 1998 (age 27)Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2025
Wicket-keepers
Christopher van TullUnited States5 October 1986 (age 39)Right-handedRight-arm fast2021

See also

References

  1. ^ "Minor League Cricket Announces Franchise Owners and Draft Update". USA Cricket. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  2. ^ Minor League Cricket (28 February 2023). "New season, new name! The DC Hawks are now the Baltimore Royals. The name might be new, but the attitude is still the same. Join us in welcoming the Royals for the upcoming 2023 MiLC Season!". No. 1630621435650621457.
  3. ^ "Minor League Division Preview Series - Eastern". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. 27 July 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Punjab cricketers move to US with eye on national team". Hindustan Times. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  5. ^ Ehrenhaft, Ethan (4 October 2022). "Cricket's popularity takes off in Howard County as adult and youth leagues gain hundreds of players and youth pitch opens". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  6. ^ "DC Hawks - Batting". CricClubs.com. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  7. ^ "DC Hawks - Bowling". CricClubs.com. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  8. ^ Penna, Peter Della (8 January 2019). "USA formally approved to rejoin ICC as Associate Member under USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  9. ^ Penna, Peter Della (27 November 2018). "USA plan to launch their T20 League in 2021". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  10. ^ "USA Cricket Chooses Partner to Fund and Develop U.S.-Based Professional T20 Cricket League". USA Cricket. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  11. ^ "USA Cricket Board Meeting February 2020". USA Cricket. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  12. ^ "USA Cricket re-evaluating Major League Cricket debut timing due to Covid-19 concerns". SportBusiness. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  13. ^ "American Major League Cricket tournament launch pushed to 2023 at Annual General Meeting". Inside the Games. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  14. ^ Penna, Peter Della (21 May 2021). "USA's MLC T20 tournament pushed back to 2023 at AGM". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  15. ^ Penna, Peter Della (30 July 2021). "Minor League Cricket: T20 league in USA kicks off with Sami Aslam, Corey Anderson in the mix". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  16. ^ Penna, Peter Della (27 February 2020). "New York, Boston, Chicago, LA among 22 targeted launch cities for USA T20 competition". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Minor League Cricket Announces Player Registration Opening". USA Cricket. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Inaugural Minor League Cricket Draft to Take Place Today". USA Cricket. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  19. ^ "17 of the 24 Squads Confirmed as Inaugural Minor League Cricket Draft is completed". USA Cricket. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  20. ^ "USA Cricket Launches Foundational Plan". USA Cricket. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
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  23. ^ "The Monday All Rounder - Week Two". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  24. ^ "The Monday All Rounder - Week 3". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  25. ^ "The Tuesday All Rounder - Week Six". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  26. ^ Patel, Smit (2 September 2021). "Minor Cricket League Week 5: Ricardo Powell turns back the clock". CricBuzz. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  27. ^ Patel, Smit (25 August 2021). "Minor League Cricket Week 4: Unmukt Chand makes his presence felt". CricBuzz.com. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  28. ^ "The Monday All Rounder - Week Seven". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  29. ^ "The Monday All Rounder - Week Eight". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  30. ^ Mehta, Nilesh (13 September 2021). "The rise of cricket in the United States of America". Sportstar. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  31. ^ "Title and Presenting Partners Announced for 2022 Minor League Cricket Championship". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  32. ^ Tom Nielson (23 June 2022). "MiLC Previews - Eastern Division". Major League Cricket. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  33. ^ Patel, Smit (26 July 2022). "Dallas Mustangs and Silicon Valley Strikers surge ahead". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  34. ^ Patel, Smit (3 August 2022). "MiLC Week 6: East Bay Blazers End Silicon Valley Strikers 11-game Winning Streak". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  35. ^ "The MiLC All Rounder - Week One". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  36. ^ Smit Patel (10 August 2022). "Minor League T20 Week 7: Teams tantalizingly poised for final round of league stage". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 16 March 2023.