Seattle Orcas building buzz for second season in Major League Cricket

Ever heard of a flick? Not a movie flick, but a flick?

In cricket, it’s a particular shot. But for “America’s Favorite Cricket Team,” it symbolizes a philosophy that has helped the Seattle Orcas grow their fan base as they work to build excitement for their second season of Major League Cricket.

“We’ve seen it (Seattle) become a real hotbed for American cricket,” Head of Marketing at T20 World Cup USA Tom Dunmore said. “I think Seattle has really shown a willingness to get out there in the community in a very organic way.”

Orcas co-owner Sanjay Parthasarthy, a former Microsoft executive and founder of Seattle-based company Indix, a web-developing platform, added, “Like a sophomore album, the expectations for MLC season two are higher, and I think we will exceed it given that the league has more world-class players this year and because the USA cricket players will step up even more after their T20 World Cup campaign.”

The Seattle Orcas, are an Twenty20 cricket team — a faster version of the game that lasts around three hours — will play their first game of the season Friday at Church Street Park cricket ground in Morrisville, N.C., against MI New York, which they lost to in last year’s championship. 

“Full credit to them as champions, but we’re really looking forward to it,” Orcas captain Wayne Parnell said. “Maybe a chance for us to put some things right after last season, but more importantly, just want to start this season off on the right foot as we look to have a good campaign.“

While it may come across as a tad presumptuous, Parthasarthy proudly displays his shirt bearing the club’s ambitious goal: “America’s favorite cricket team.”

That’s where F-L-I-C-K comes into play, a term coined in the teams’ early days as a guiding principle.

F is for focusing on the fans; L is for spreading the love; I is for being inclusive no matter age, gender, ethnicity, or class; C is to compete to win and K is for keeping it fun.

While the MLC only plays in Morrisville and Dallas, the Orcas are committed to making cricket accessible to the people of Seattle. 

Flatstick Pub was recently named as the official bar partner for the season, with watch parties at their various locations. Games can also be watched on ROOT Sports (including Friday’s opener at 12:30 p.m.) and streamed on FUBO and Willow TV.

“When we knew that the Men’s T20 World Cup (which wrapped up last month) was coming to the United States, we worked with the ICC (International Cricket Council) to make sure the World Cup Trophy came through Seattle,” said Soma Somasegar, Orcas co-owner and Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, a venture capital firm. “We knew it’s a way for the community to understand and also to build awareness for the sport here. We thought we’d get 200 to 300 people, but we got about 1,500 people.

“The watch party for India versus Pakistan saw about 2,000 people show up. This just to give you a sense of the level of interest and excitement that is here.”

With the aim of also reaching students, “Cricket in a Box” represents one of the team’s innovative partnerships and initiatives. 

“Cricket in a Box is basically a cricket kit that contains bats, balls, gloves, pads and wickets, so that people can decide to play right away for a quick fun game of cricket,” said Sheel Majumdar, Chief of Staff at Microsoft and the leader of the Cricket in a Box mission. “All you need to do is find a park or a ground and just play.

“We spend some time with them teaching some basic things in order to create enough interest so that they can use the box that we leave behind for them to continue playing the sport and get more interested in the sport.” 

Like most sports in the U.S., growth stems from winning and having recognizable faces.

Ross Taylor, a former captain of the New Zealand national team; Quinton De Kock, former captain of South Africa national cricket team; Heinrich Klaasen, who plays for the South African national cricket team and Harmeet Singh, who plays for the U.S. national cricket team, are all prominent figures in the cricket world.

They played or coached the Orcas last year and are set to return this season.

“We’ve managed to keep our core together — Klassen, Quinton [de Kock], Emad are the guys who have the most responsibilities,” Orcas coach Pravin Amre said. “That was important because of their experience helping us get to the finals last year. We’ve made some good additions and are also thinking about the future.”

The Orcas will compete in seven matches, running from Friday through July 23. The playoff end with the Summit Clash, or championship match, on July 28.

“We’re all looking forward to season two,” Amre said. “We want to start well, and we’ve had a good camp in Houston, a good practice match in Morrisville. As a coaching group we’re happy and ready to pick the best team to give us a chance to win against NY on Friday.”

Parnell said, “In the offseason you always look forward to the moment where you take the field and play matches. Now that time is here — lots of work leading up to now and we’re excited to show what we can do.”