The inaugural season of the Toyota Minor League Cricket Championship presented by SLING TV will come to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday, Oct. 3, at scenic Church Street Park in Morrisville, NC. The New Jersey Stallions and Silicon Valley Strikers will meet in a one-game championship final at 2 p.m., set to be broadcast live on Willow TV. A grand prize of $125,000, the largest in American cricket history, will go to the first-ever Toyota Minor League Cricket Champions.
The final match at Church Street Park, located only 15 miles from downtown Raleigh, is free to attend. Fans will have the opportunity to meet and greet with international star cricketers, enjoy local food trucks, music and a family activity zone.
The New Jersey Stallions claimed the Atlantic Championship on Saturday after defeating the Empire State Titans by five wickets in a close contest decided with only seven balls to spare. West Indian international Rovman Powell took Player of the Match honors for the Stallions, scoring 30 quick runs off 20 balls and taking the critical wicket of Christopher Barnwell of the Titans.
Empire State batted first, putting up a total of 125, with Jaladh Dua top scoring with 39 from 32 balls. The Titans, though, were not able to accelerate their scoring as a regular steam of wickets fell, Empire State bowled out with one delivery remaining. USA international Jessy Singh and Sachin Mylavarapu both took two wickets for the Stallions. The Stallions’ chase was led by Dominique Rikhi, who struck 34 from 43 balls, along with Powell’s 30 and a crucial flurry of 32 from 20 balls by Jon Ross Campbell. That allowed New Jersey to claim victory in the nineteenth over and book their place in the Championship Final.
The Pacific Conference title was claimed by the Silicon Valley Strikers, defeating their Western Division foes the Golden State Grizzlies by 33 runs. Player of the Match was claimed by Unmukt Chand, the Strikers’ captain continuing his electric run of form with a top score of 59 from only 43 balls. Chand and Rahul Jariwala, who scored 45 from 45 balls, put on 102 for the first wicket, giving the Strikers a platform to post a total of 168 runs.
The Grizzlies’ chase began poorly, with three wickets falling in the first five overs, followed by Abhishek Paradkar taking the prized wicket of Golden State’s captain Sami Aslam for 23 runs. The Grizzlies continued to stutter, with only Mohit Nataraj posting a notable score, hitting 48 from 33 balls. Golden State’s success with the ball was shared across their bowlers, with four men taking two wickets each – Saurabh Netravalkar, Kulvinder Singh, Roshon Primus and Paradkar. The Grizzlies did not look like chasing down the Strikers’ total in the closing overs, bowled out for 135, 33 runs short of their target.
The victories by the Stallions and Strikers sets up a mouth-watering clash for Sunday afternoon, with the match set to begin at 2 pm. The match and broadcast schedule at Church Street Park is as follows:
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Silicon Valley Strikers vs. New Jersey Stallions
Sunday, Oct. 3 – 2 p.m. ET
- Live broadcast on Willow TV and Willow Extra*
- Live stream on Willow app and website
- Live stream on Willow YouTube channel outside the United States
* Willow Extra will be available to watch free for SLING TV subscribers
Live ball-by-ball scoring will also be provided by CricClubs, and will be available at www.minorleague.cricket.
Entry is free though fans are encouraged to RSVP at finals.minorleague.cricket to receive important information to plan ahead for their visit.
