Baltimore Royals

The Baltimore Royals (formerly the DC Hawks) 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.[1][2] The franchise is currently owned by Rajit Passey.[1]

Baltimore Royals
LeagueMinor League Cricket
ConferenceEastern Division (Atlantic Conference)
Personnel
CaptainSunny Sohal
OwnerRajit Passey
Team information
CityBaltimore, Maryland
Colours  Orange, and   Dark Orange.
Founded2020 (2020)
Home groundVeterans Memorial Park

T20 kit

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
The logo for the then-DC Hawks

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.[18] The draft for the exhibition league began on August 22, 2020,[19] with the DC Hawks releasing their squad on September 2.[20] Navin Stewart was later named as captain for the DC Hawks in the exhibition league.[20]

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.[21] Ahead of the official season, which was announced to kick off on July 31,[22] 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.[23] They then went on to win against the Philadelphians,[24] the Eagles twice,[25][26] the Titans,[27] the Stallions,[25] the Yorkers,[28] and the Cavaliers.[29] They additionally lost against the Philadelphians,[29] the Titans,[27] the Stallions,[25] the Yorkers,[30] the Cavaliers,[24] the Fire,[31] and the Param Veers.[26]

The Hawks placed 4th in their group, thus missing the quarter-finals.[30]

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.[32] Ahead of the official season, it was announced that American international Sunny Sohal would continue to captain the side, with former IPL cricketer Bipul Sharma taking over the role of vice-captain following Adil Bhatti's departure to the Empire State Titans.[33]

Throughout the season, the Hawks lost twice against the Stallions, the Titans, and the Yorkers,[34] lost once against the runners-up Atlanta Fire,[35] won once and lost once against the Eagles and the Philadelphians,[36] won once against the Lions, and won twice against the Cavaliers.[37] 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.
Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Year signed Notes
Batsmen
Abdullah Ghazi United Arab Emirates (1988-05-18) 18 May 1988Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021Overseas
Franklin Clement United States (1993-04-21) 21 April 1993Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Ritwik Behera United States (2003-11-10) 10 November 2003Right-handedRight-arm off break2021
Shehan Perera Sri Lanka (1987-02-11) 11 February 1987Right-handedRight-arm off break2021Overseas
Sunny Sohal United States (1987-11-10) 10 November 1987Right-handedRight-arm leg break2021Captain
Talal Zia Pakistan (1986-03-25) 25 March 1986Right-handedRight-arm medium2021Overseas
All-rounders
Shukri Rahim Malaysia (1986-10-06) 6 October 1986Right-handedRight-arm off break2021Overseas
Adil Bhatti United States (1984-10-28) 28 October 1984Right-handedRight-arm medium2021Vice-captain
Dane Piedt South Africa (1990-03-06) 6 March 1990Right-handedRight-arm off break2021Overseas
Ishan Sharma United States (2003-05-17) 17 May 2003Right-handedRight-arm fast medium2021
Naseer Islam United States (1972-09-23) 23 September 1972Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021
Rasesh Behera United States (2001-08-30) 30 August 2001Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Ravi Inder Singh India (1987-12-04) 4 December 1987Left-handedRight-arm off break2021Overseas
Raviteja Reddy United States (1993-02-11) 11 February 1993Right-handedRight-arm leg break2021
Sahil Kapoor United States (1986-08-11) 11 August 1986Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021
Waleed Karimullah United States (1993-06-08) 8 June 1993Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Bowlers
Sarabjit Ladda India (1974-10-25) 25 October 1974Right-handedRight-arm medium fast2021Overseas
Wicket-keepers
Christopher van Tull United States (1986-10-05) 5 October 1986Right-handedRight-arm fast2021

See also

References
  1. "Minor League Cricket Announces Franchise Owners and Draft Update". USA Cricket. August 15, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  2. Minor League Cricket [@MiLCricket] (February 28, 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!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. "Minor League Division Preview Series - Eastern". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. July 27, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  4. "Punjab cricketers move to US with eye on national team". Hindustan Times. July 7, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  5. Ehrenhaft, Ethan (October 4, 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 March 14, 2023.
  6. "DC Hawks - Batting". CricClubs.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  7. "DC Hawks - Bowling". CricClubs.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  8. Penna, Peter Della (January 8, 2019). "USA formally approved to rejoin ICC as Associate Member under USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  9. Penna, Peter Della (November 27, 2018). "USA plan to launch their T20 League in 2021". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  10. "USA Cricket Chooses Partner to Fund and Develop U.S.-Based Professional T20 Cricket League". USA Cricket. May 23, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  11. "USA Cricket Board Meeting February 2020". USA Cricket. February 27, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  12. "USA Cricket re-evaluating Major League Cricket debut timing due to Covid-19 concerns". SportBusiness. August 2, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  13. "American Major League Cricket tournament launch pushed to 2023 at Annual General Meeting". Inside the Games. May 24, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  14. Penna, Peter Della (May 21, 2021). "USA's MLC T20 tournament pushed back to 2023 at AGM". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  15. 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 March 5, 2022.
  16. Penna, Peter Della (February 27, 2020). "New York, Boston, Chicago, LA among 22 targeted launch cities for USA T20 competition". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  17. "Minor League Cricket Announces Player Registration Opening". USA Cricket. July 7, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  18. "Minor League Cricket Announces Franchise Owners and Draft Update". USA Cricket. August 15, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  19. "Inaugural Minor League Cricket Draft to Take Place Today". USA Cricket. August 22, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  20. "17 of the 24 Squads Confirmed as Inaugural Minor League Cricket Draft is completed". USA Cricket. September 2, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  21. "USA Cricket Launches Foundational Plan". USA Cricket. October 15, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  22. "American Cricket History to be Made on Minor League Cricket Opening Weekend". Major League Cricket. USA Cricket. July 29, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  23. "The Monday All Rounder - Opening Weekend". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. August 2, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  24. "The Monday All Rounder - Week Two". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. August 9, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  25. "The Monday All Rounder - Week 3". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. August 16, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  26. "The Tuesday All Rounder - Week Six". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. September 7, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  27. Patel, Smit (September 2, 2021). "Minor Cricket League Week 5: Ricardo Powell turns back the clock". CricBuzz. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  28. Patel, Smit (August 25, 2021). "Minor League Cricket Week 4: Unmukt Chand makes his presence felt". CricBuzz.com. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  29. "The Monday All Rounder - Week Seven". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. September 13, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  30. "The Monday All Rounder - Week Eight". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. September 20, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  31. Mehta, Nilesh (September 13, 2021). "The rise of cricket in the United States of America". Sportstar. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  32. "Title and Presenting Partners Announced for 2022 Minor League Cricket Championship". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  33. Tom Nielson (June 23, 2022). "MiLC Previews - Eastern Division". Major League Cricket. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  34. Patel, Smit (July 26, 2022). "Dallas Mustangs and Silicon Valley Strikers surge ahead". Cricbuzz. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  35. Patel, Smit (August 3, 2022). "MiLC Week 6: East Bay Blazers End Silicon Valley Strikers 11-game Winning Streak". Cricbuzz. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  36. "The MiLC All Rounder - Week One". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. June 28, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  37. Smit Patel (August 10, 2022). "Minor League T20 Week 7: Teams tantalizingly poised for final round of league stage". Cricbuzz. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
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