Philadelphia welcomes professional cricket with open arms at the Philly Summer Cricket Festival 2022

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PHILADELPHIA, PA (AUGUST 10, 2022) – Saturday, July 30, 2022 will be a day etched in the history of cricket in the country as 1500+ fans thronged to attend the inaugural Philly Summer Cricket Festival 2022 hosted by The Philadelphians Cricket franchise in association with Toyota Minor League Cricket at the Exton

Park playing fields in Exton, PA. The festival will go on record as one of the highest attended professional domestic cricket events in the country in recent memory.

The Toyota Minor League Cricket Championship presented by Sunoco, launched in 2021, is the nation’s largest, officially sanctioned semi-professional T20 cricket

league featuring 26 teams from across the country. The Philadelphia region is represented by “The Philadelphians Cricket” franchise with the team’s home base set at Exton Park Playing fields, PA.

Encouraged by strong pre-event registration, the organizing team ensured no stone was left unturned in terms of making sure the stage was set to put up a high-quality display of professional T20 games coupled with plenty of fun activities for fans off the field. On offer were two action-packed professional Minor League Cricket T20 matches featuring the cream of international and domestic talent represented by teams from Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey and Washington DC, all of whom put on high voltage performances on the field.

The day began with a free cricket clinic hosted by The Philadelphians engaging young players between the age of six and fifteen. The youngsters learned about the sport from England World Cup winning superstar, Liam Plunkett, and a renowned international cricket coach who’s also the Philadelphians’ head coach, Aravind Raghavan.

Adding to the zing off the field was a special concessions area featuring booths from the sponsors of the league as well as The Philadelphians and multiple options for local food and beverages from local vendors. Minor League Cricket’s title sponsor Toyota brought along a swanky looking 2022 Toyota Tundra Pickup for display coupled with a captivating virtual reality cricket game that became an instant fan favorite. The Philadelphians’ principal sponsor PARX Casino added to the flavor by offering free gaming coupons and a standout golf cart drive around the field treating fans to some free official Philadelphians merchandise. The Chester County’s tourism bureau presented fans and VIP guests with welcome goodies while local sponsors like realtor Maharshi Patel brought in special fan offers for the event. At the Philly Cricket booth, fans got to buy some cool franchise merchandise as well as to meet their favorite cricket stars including former England world cup winning superstar, Liam Plunkett, and Milind Kumar, former IPL star and the Philadelphians’ captain for pictures and autographs.

The history of cricket in Philadelphia is much celebrated given the presence of the sport in the region since the 18th century and the dominance of teams from the city in the 19th and 20th centuries. This was well represented by a special booth set up by the CC Morris Cricket Library which runs the oldest cricket museum in the western hemisphere featuring rare artifacts – including the personal cricket bat of global cricketing legend Sir Donald Bradman as well as personal gear of the greatest cricketer of America, John “Bart” King. The fans got an opportunity to get up and close with these special memorabilia as well as learning about the deep-rooted history of cricket in America and more specifically around Philadelphia.

More than half of the attendees had their very first live encounter with a professional cricket match and the excitement was palpable. Fans could be seen teaching and learning about the sport with the DJ/Announcer AB Bhakta dishing out game details coupled with peppy tunes to keep the audience engaged and rolling. The franchise’s volunteer group was led by enthusiastic high school kids representing nonprofit organizations like “Sewa International” and “Asha Jyothi” that focus on personality development of the youth and in shaping up future leaders. Attendees were well impressed by the cheerful greetings from our young volunteers whose primary goal was to ensure a smooth operational flow throughout the day.

The cricket action did not disappoint the fans as the afternoon game between the Philadelphians and New Jersey Stallions went down the wire till the very last ball. That rounded up what will remain as a memorable day and a huge step forward in terms of reloading the beautiful sport of cricket in and around Philadelphia.

Cricket definitely was welcomed with open arms by the sports loving fanbase of Philadelphia at beautiful Exton Park.

QUOTES:

“At Major League Cricket, we aim to bring cricket to a wider audience in the United States and community events like the Philly Summer Cricket Festival act as an important catalyst in that direction. It is great to see so many fans come out to enjoy a day of Minor League Cricket games while learning about the sport and its history,” said Sameer Mehta, co-founder, Major League Cricket.

“The Philly Summer Cricket Festival was a fantastic showcase for Minor League Cricket, with The Philadelphians’ fan engagement efforts in the community paying dividends. It was great to

experience the atmosphere at the match and speak with so many new fans enjoying the game alongside hundreds of passionate Philadelphians supporters and young local players. I expect to see this event become a significant annual fixture in the Philly cricket scene, helping to forge a new era for the sport locally,” said Tom Dunmore, Vice-President of Marketing, Major League Cricket.

“The Philadelphians Cricket franchise takes a lot of pride in the rich history of the sport in the city of Philadelphia. It is our primary goal to bring cricket back to its former glory in the United States and the success of the Philly Summer Cricket Festival definitely offers a glimpse of Philly sports fans’ appetite towards well packaged sporting events. We aim to make this a regular feature in the region’s summer calendar and treat our fans to more cricket-based entertainment,” said Murali Kailashnath, founding partner, The Philadelphians Cricket LLC.

“It was an honor to be asked to attend my first cricket match on July 30 at Exton Park. I greatly enjoyed the match and it is clear that cricket in Exton Park is a sport on the rise,” said Sean Kilkenny, Montgomery County Sheriff, PA.

“It was like a dream come to life to watch a professional cricket game in our township with a festival like atmosphere supported by the largest crowd for any league game in the country. The Philadelphians cricket franchise really put up a great event for fans in the region to enjoy,” said Rajesh Kumbhardare, Chair of the Board of Supervisors, West Whiteland Township, PA.

“July 30th was a special day for The Philadelphians and the cricketing community in general. We couldn’t be happier to have witnessed what turned out to be a historic response from Cricket fans in the region. Glad that we could plan and handle all of this to the fans’ satisfaction. We

aim to make this bigger and better going forward,” said Anand Subramanian, Head of

Operations, The Philadelphians Cricket LLC.

ABOUT MINOR LEAGUE CRICKET

Minor League Cricket (MiLC) is a national semi-professional Twenty20 cricket competition for city-based teams from across the United States, launched in 2021 with 26 teams taking part in the 2022 season. The most extensive competition in American cricket, MiLC provides a foundational structure as a

pathway to Major League Cricket and the United States National Team for the nation’s best players. Visit www.minorleaguecricket.com for more details.

ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIANS

The Philadelphians Cricket LLC was established in 2020 with a vision to bring cricket back to its old glory in Philadelphia and to scale up the sport at a professional level in America.

Driven by the rich cricketing history of Philadelphia and existing growth potential, the Philadelphians’ primary goal is to enable professional cricket by means of fielding a top quality cricket team representing the city of Philadelphia in Minor League Cricket, investing in player development programs at the grassroots level, developing infrastructure, engaging national and international professional players and coaches, working closely with the local community including its leaders to make Philadelphia a sought after and commercially viable hub for cricket in America. Visit www.phillycricket.com for more details.