SAN FRANCISCO, CA (July 13, 2022) – Minor League Cricket (MiLC) announced today that the Philly Summer Cricket Festival will take place on Saturday, July 30 at Exton Park, around 30 miles west of downtown Philadelphia. The event, hosted by MiLC team The Philadelphians, is free for all fans to attend.
A doubleheader of action in the Toyota Minor League Cricket Championship (MiLC) presented by Sunoco will anchor the day’s activities. A morning matchup starting at 10 AM will see the DC Hawks against the New Jersey Somerset Cavaliers, followed by host team The Philadelphians facing the New Jersey Stallions, last year’s MiLC runners-up, at 2 PM.
International star players expected to be on view includes England’s Liam Plunkett, World Cup winner in 2019, representing The Philadelphians, along with his teammates Milind Kumar (formerly of the Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore of the Indian Premier League) and Jonathan Foo (Jamaica Tallawahs of the Caribbean Premier League and Guyana).
Also featured on rosters for the Hawks, Cavaliers and Stallions are notable players including Bipul Sharma and Sunny Sohal (Kings XI Punjab, Indian Premier League), Umaid Asif (Karachi Kings, Pakistan Super League) and USA National Team players Jaskaran Malhotra, Xavier Marshall and Jessy Singh.
Fans will have the opportunity to meet and greet with international star cricketers, enjoy food from local food trucks, music, giveaways and other entertainment including fan activation from Toyota and Sunoco. Young fans will have the opportunity to take part in a cricket clinic at 9 AM while new fans of the game will have the opportunity to learn about the world’s second most popular sport in a special “Cricket 101” fan zone throughout the day. Registration for the event is encouraged at www.phillycricket.com. Gates will open at 9 AM.
The region’s rich cricket history will also be on display with a booth from the CC Morris Cricket Library available to visit, featuring items from the largest collection of cricket literature and memorabilia in the Western Hemisphere, located in Haverford, PA.
Philadelphia is known for its distinguished cricketing heritage with stories of General George Washington’s troops playing the game of “wickets” at Valley Forge, PA in the eighteenth century followed by a long and highly successful run as the hotspot for domestic first-class cricket in the USA in the nineteenth century. The famed cricket team from this era, the “Philadelphian Cricket Team,” is known to have featured some of the best talent in the region, defeating high quality international teams.
“Philadelphia has arguably the richest history of cricket in America, and the Philly Summer Cricket Festival will both honor that past and showcase a new era for cricket in the region,” said Jaisri Chety, Founding Partner, The Philadelphians Cricket LLC. “The day will be filled with fantastic cricket and exciting activities for all the family including the chance to meet-and-greet with international star players, enjoy local food and music and explore the history of American cricket. We can’t wait to welcome the area’s cricket community to Exton Park on July 30.”
The action at Exton Park will take place on the sixth weekend of play for the Toyota Minor League Cricket Championship’s second season. The season will run for eight weeks of regular season action nationwide this summer and conclude with Conference semi-finals held Aug. 20-21 and Finals Weekend over Aug. 27-28.