Houston Hurricanes (cricket)

The Houston Hurricanes are an American professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that compete in Minor League Cricket (MiLC). The team is based in Houston, Texas. It was formed in 2020 as part of 24 original teams to compete in Minor League Cricket.[1] The franchise is owned by Tanweer Ahmed and Mangesh Chaudhari.[2]

Houston Hurricanes
LeagueMinor League Cricket
ConferencePacific Conference (Central Division)
Personnel
CaptainUsman Rafiq
OwnerTanweer Ahmed
Mangesh Chaudhari
Team information
CityHouston, Texas
Colours  Red, and   Black.
Founded2020 (2020)
Home groundPrairie View Cricket Complex
Official websitemilc.majorleaguecricket.com/..

T20 kit

The team's home ground is Prairie View Cricket Complex, located in Prairie View, Texas.[3] Usman Rafiq was named as captain, while Willem Ludick was named as vice-captain for the team.[4]

The current leading run-scorer is Willem Ludick,[5] with the highest wicket-taker being Karthik Gattepalli.[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]

Exhibition league

In July 2020, the player registration for the Minor League Cricket exhibition league began.[16] On August 15, 2020, USA Cricket announced the teams participating in the exhibition league matches, also listing the owners for each team.[17] The draft for the exhibition league began on August 22, 2020,[18] with the Houston Hurricanes releasing their squad on August 24.[19] Usman Rafiq was later named as captain for the Houston Hurricanes in the exhibition league.[20]

The exhibition matches kicked off on September 12,[21] with the Houston Hurricanes losing their first match to the Irving Mustangs by 75 runs.[22][23] The Houston Hurricanes then went on to concede 3 wins and 2 losses, placing 3rd throughout the exhibition league in the Central Division.[24][25]

2021 season
See also: 2021 Minor League Cricket season § Pacific 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.[26] Ahead of the official season, which was announced to kick off on July 31,[27] they announced Usman Rafiq as captain and Willem Ludick as vice-captain.[4]

In their first match of the season, the Houston Hurricanes defeated the Austin Athletics chasing down a total of 175 in the 20th over, winning the match by 3 wickets.[28] They then went on to win their next 3 games by 4 wickets, 50 runs, and 76 runs respectively,[29][30][31] until they went on to concede their first loss of the season against the Michigan Cricket Stars.[32] Over the following weeks, the Houston Hurricanes won 8 more matches, and lost 2 more matches,[33] thus qualifying them for the quarter-finals.[34]

In the quarter-finals, they faced the Golden State Grizzlies in a best-of-three series, losing the series 2-0, and placing 3rd in the league.[35]

2022 season

Ahead of the 2022 season, MLC announced that the draft for that season would take place on May 12.[36]

In January 2023, MLC announced that the Hurricanes would play a three-game series at the Quetta Gladiators of the Pakistan Super League.[37]

Current squad
  • Players with international caps are listed in bold.
  •  *  denotes a player who is currently unavailable for selection.
  •  *  denotes a player who is unavailable for rest of the season
Name Nat. Birth date Batting style Bowling style Signed year Notes
Batsmen
Ahsan ShahUnited States (1995-05-27) 27 May 1995Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Ali SamadUnited States (1997-07-05) 5 July 1997Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Majjid ZubairUnited States (2000-09-13) 13 September 2000Right-handedRight-arm leg-break2021
Naseer JamaliUnited States (1989-09-10) 10 September 1989Right-handedLeft-arm medium2020
Rishi RameshUnited States (2003-07-20) 20 July 2003Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Slade van StadenUnited States (2003-04-30) 30 April 2003Right-handedRight-arm leg-break2021Overseas
Usman RafiqUnited States (1988-08-13) 13 August 1988Right-handedRight-arm off break2020
Willem LudickSouth Africa (1997-03-20) 20 March 1997Right-handedRight-arm medium2021Overseas captain
All-rounders
Ali KhanUnited States (1988-12-13) 13 December 1988Right-handedRight-arm medium2020
Ashley NurseBarbados (1988-12-22) 22 December 1988Right-handedRight-arm off break2021Overseas
Derwish AliUnited States (1991-07-15) 15 July 1991Right-handedRight-arm fast2021
Haris QureshiUnited States (1983-02-11) 11 February 1983Right-handedRight-arm medium2021
Karthik GattepalliUnited States (2000-04-25) 25 April 2000Left-handedLeft-arm orthodox spin2021
Shuja NaqviUnited States (1992-06-16) 16 June 1992Right-handedRight-arm medium2020
Sudhir HingeUnited States (1992-07-19) 19 July 1992Right-handedRight-arm fast medium2021
Sushant ModaniUnited States (1989-01-05) 5 January 1989Right-handedRight-arm off break2021
Waleed AhmedPakistan (1992-12-04) 4 December 1992Right-handedRight-arm off break2020Overseas
Rayaan BhaganiUnited States (2005-03-27) 27 March 2005Right-handedMedium pacer2020
Wicket-keepers
Rana AliUnited States (1999-12-28) 28 December 1999Right-handedRight-arm medium2020Overseas
Saqlain HaiderUnited Arab Emirates (1987-08-10) 10 August 1987Left-handed2020Overseas

Statistics

Most runs
Nat. Player Span Matches Innings Runs Average HS 100 50
South Africa Willem Ludick 2021–present 12 11 381 47.62 60 0 4
United Arab Emirates Saqlain Haider 2020–present 15 14 280 40.00 63 0 1
United States Slade van Staden 2021–present 12 9 177 25.29 29 0 0
Pakistan Burhan Johar 2020 7 7 138 19.71 46 0 0
United States Sushant Modani 2021–present 7 7 134 22.33 56 0 1

Source: CricClubs, Last updated: 21 September 2021

Most wickets
Nat. Player Span Matches Wickets Avg BBI Econ SR 4w 5w
United States Karthik Gattepalli 2021–present 15 24 14.79 4/12 5.92 15.0 2 0
United States Usman Rafiq 2020–present 15 16 20.31 3/16 6.77 18.0 0 0
United States Naseer Jamali 2020–present 12 15 19.40 2/16 7.10 16.4 0 0
Barbados Chaim Holder 2020 7 9 20.67 2/12 6.89 18.0 0 0
Barbados Ashley Nurse 2021–present 5 8 11.38 3/14 5.06 13.5 0 0

Source: CricClubs, Last updated: 21 September 2021

See also

References
  1. "Minor League Cricket Announces Franchise Owners and Draft Owners". USA Cricket. August 15, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  2. Hays, Nate (August 18, 2020). "Minor League Cricket announces teams and owners list, draft on August 22, exhibition games tentative". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  3. "Minor League Division Preview Series - Central". Major League Cricket. July 30, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  4. "Pre-Draft Selections Confirmed by 21 Minor League Cricket Teams as Draft Day Looms". USA Cricket. June 4, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  5. "Houston Hurricanes Batting - Minor League Cricket". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  6. "Houston Hurricanes Bowling - Minor League Cricket". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 16, 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 Announces Player Registration Opening". USA Cricket. July 7, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  17. "Minor League Cricket Announces Franchise Owners and Draft Update". USA Cricket. August 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  18. "Inaugural Minor League Cricket Draft to Take Place Today". USA Cricket. August 22, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  19. "Minor League Cricket Draft results with 15 Squads Selected". USA Cricket. August 24, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  20. Hays, Nate (September 15, 2020). "Jessy Singh and Shayan Jahangir bring CPL experiences to Minor League Cricket". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  21. "Minor League Cricket Partners with Sistar Mortgage, Franchise Exhibition Matches to Start September 12th". USA Cricket. September 8, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  22. Bhardwaj, Arjun (September 16, 2020). "Week 1 Wrap-up: Minor League Cricket Franchise Exhibition Matches". USA Cricket. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  23. "Irving Mustangs vs. Houston Hurricanes - Full Scorecard". Funngage. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  24. Bhardwaj, Arjun (September 23, 2020). "Week 2 Wrap-up: Minor League Cricket Franchise Exhibition Matches". USA Cricket. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  25. Bhardwaj, Arjun (October 1, 2020). "Week 3 Wrap-up: Minor League Cricket Franchise Exhibition Matches". USA Cricket. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  26. "USA Cricket Launches Foundational Plan". USA Cricket. October 15, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  27. "American Cricket History to be Made on Minor League Cricket Opening Weekend". Major League Cricket. USA Cricket. July 29, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  28. "Austin Athletics v. Houston Hurricanes (Match 6) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  29. "Houston Hurricanes v. Michigan Cricket Stars (Match 31) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  30. "Houston Hurricanes v. Chicago Blasters (Match 40) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  31. "Houston Hurricanes v. Chicago Catchers (Match 48) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  32. "Michigan Cricket Stars v. Houston Hurricanes (Match 52) - Full Scorecard". CricClubs.com. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  33. Nielson, Tom (September 15, 2021). "Pacific Conference Power Rankings". Major League Cricket. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  34. "The Monday All Rounder - Week Eight". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  35. "Conference Semi-finals Playoff Preview". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  36. "Title and Presenting Partners Announced for 2022 Minor League Cricket Championship". Minor League Cricket. Major League Cricket. May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  37. "Quetta Gladiators to play three-match T20 series with USA's Houston Hurricanes". cricketpakistan.com.pk. January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
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