# San Francisco Unicorns

The San Francisco Unicorns are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team based in the San Francisco Bay Area that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). The team's planned home ground is in the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds.
In 2023, it was announced as one of the six teams to participate in the league's inaugural season. The team is owned by Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, co-founders of Cambrian ventures. In March 2023, Cricket Victoria announced their partnership with the Unicorns for the opening season.

## History

Cricket has been growing steadily in San Jose, thanks to cricket clubs like the Northern California Cricket Alliance. Looking at these growing numbers, the county supervisors have been planning to build a stadium in the Santa Clara Fairgrounds. The Unicorns' minor league affiliate are the Bay Blazers, which competes in MLC's developmental league Minor League Cricket.
In March 2023, the team ownership, name, and logo was unveiled prior to the inaugural MLC domestic draft. The team is owned by Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, and the team partnered with the Australia's Cricket Victoria for the first season. Justin Gaele, MLC tournament director emphasizing about the Unicorns, told that the Bay Area could serve as the launchpad for cricket in the United States.

### 2023 season

The Unicorns signed the first overseas player signed in the inaugural MLC — Australian international Aaron Finch. He was subsequently announced as the captain. Corey Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Tajinder Singh and Smit Patel were prominent names picked in the domestic round of the draft; Marcus Stoinis was also announced as another overseas signing by the Unicorns. In May 2023, the team announced direct signing of South African pacer, Lungi Ngidi. On June 20, 2023, Unicorns announced former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson as their head coach for the 2023 season.
The team finished fifth in the tournament, winning just two of their five league matches. They were tied on points with the MI New York, but could not advance to the play-offs due to their negative net run arte.

### 2024 season

In December 2023, it was announced that the second season of the tournament would begin on July 4, 2024, four days after the conclusion of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The date was later moved to July 5.
On February 15, 2024, the retained overseas players' Harris Rauf and Finn Allen Retained. On March 1, 2024, the domestic player retention list was announced. Corey Anderson Liam Plunkett, Carmi le Roux, Brody Couch, Sanjay Krishnamurthi were among the domestic players that were retained.
The domestic players' draft was virtually held on March 21, 2024, with a total of 20 players being picked by the teams over 10 rounds. An additional draft is scheduled for June 16 in order for teams to complete their squads.
Hassan Khan, Tajinder Singh ,Karima Gore and Jahmar Hamilton were prominent names picked in the domestic round of the draft.
Matthew Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Henry and Josh Inglis were also announced as direct overseas signing by the Unicorns for their second season.
In June 2024, the team announced direct signing of Australia Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins. After signing a four-year contract with the team, Cummins is expected to fill in the leadership vacuum at the Unicorns after Aaron Finch's retirement. He was subsequently announced as the captain.
Pat Cummins has signed a four-year contract with San Francisco Unicorns, becoming one of the highest-profile players on the roster of a Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise.

## Current squad

* Players with international caps are listed in bold.
San Francisco Unicorns roster :
| Position | Name | Nationality | Date of birth (age) | Batting style | Bowling style | Year signed | Notes |
| Batters | Finn Allen | New Zealand | (1999-04-22) April 22, 1999 (age 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | 2023 | Direct signing |
| Batters | Matthew Short | Australia | (1995-11-08) November 8, 1995 (age 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | 2024 | Direct signing |
| Batters | Jake Fraser-McGurk | Australia | (2002-04-11) April 11, 2002 (age 22) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | 2024 | Direct signing |
| Batters | Sherfane Rutherford | West Indies | (1998-08-15) August 15, 1998 (age 26) | Left-handed | Right-arm fast medium | 2024 | Direct signing |
| All-rounders | Corey Anderson | United States | (1990-12-13) December 13, 1990 (age 34) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | 2023 | Captain |
| All-rounders | Karima Gore | United States | (1998-06-25) June 25, 1998 (age 26) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | 2024 | |
| All-rounders | Sanjay Krishnamurthi | United States | (2003-06-02) June 2, 2003 (age 21) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | 2023 | U23 player |
| All-rounders | Tajinder Singh | India | (1992-05-25) May 25, 1992 (age 32) | Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | 2024 | Released and re-drafted in 2024 |
| Wicket-keepers | Jahmar Hamilton | West Indies | (1990-09-22) September 22, 1990 (age 34) | Right-handed | — | 2024 | |
| Wicket-keepers | Josh Inglis | Australia | (1994-03-04) March 4, 1994 (age 30) | Right-handed | — | 2024 | Direct signing |
| Bowlers | Pat Cummins | Australia | (1993-03-08) March 8, 1993 (age 31) | Right-handed | Right arm fast | 2024 | Direct signing; |
| Bowlers | Brody Couch | Australia | (1999-12-05) December 5, 1999 (age 25) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | 2023 | |
| Bowlers | Carmi le Roux | South Africa | (1993-03-30) March 30, 1993 (age 31) | Right-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | 2023 | |
| Bowlers | Hassan Khan | Pakistan | (1998-10-16) October 16, 1998 (age 26) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | 2024 | |
| Bowlers | Liam Plunkett | England | (1985-04-06) April 6, 1985 (age 39) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2023 | |
| Bowlers | Haris Rauf | Pakistan | (1993-11-07) November 7, 1993 (age 31) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2023 | Direct signing |
| Bowlers | Matt Henry | New Zealand | (1991-12-14) December 14, 1991 (age 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2024 | Direct signing |
| Bowlers | Abrar Ahmed | Pakistan | (1998-10-16) October 16, 1998 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | 2024 | Direct signing |

## Administration and support staff

San Francisco Unicorns staff :
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Shane Watson |

## Seasons
### Seasons

| Year | League standing | Final standing |
| 2023 | 5th out of 6 | League stage |
| 2024 | 2nd out of 6 | Runners up |
* C: champions
* RU: runner-up
* SF team qualified for the semi-final stage of the competition

### Season summary

| Year | Played | Wins | Losses | Ties/NR |
| 2023 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| Source: ESPNCricinfo |||||
Note:
* NR indicates No result.
* Abandoned matches are indicated as no result.