SF vs Seattle, 16th Match at Dallas, MLC, Jun 25 2025 - Ball by Ball Commentary

That concludes the activities for the MLC today. Thank you for tuning in. Please join us again tomorrow at the same time and place for more MLC action. Until then, this is Rashad Mahbub signing off on behalf of Thilak Ramamurthy and the whole ESPNcricinfo team. Ciao!

Matthew Short: "[Qualified for the Playoffs] First time I've heard that. So thanks for that. The boys are obviously up and about. We've had a great start to the tournament, only looking forward from here and on to the next game. [What pleased you the most about tonight's win?] It's a good question. I mean, the last few games we've played probably to our best ability, but tonight we're probably a little bit off. I guess in those previous games, we're so good at creating partnerships with the bat, really putting the other team under pressure, especially in those death overs. But I think we lacked a little bit of building those partnerships and not having a steady player in the end. Obviously, Romario, to bat well at the end was really crucial for us. Again, they come out pretty hard with the bat. I think that's a pretty common thing we've seen this tournament and around the world in T20 cricket these days. So again, credit to the bowlers, they held their heads up and kept coming and kept bowling their best balls and taking wickets, and that really kept us in the game and got us to win. I think we've got a couple of days off between the next game. Got to sponsor golf day tomorrow, and then into live golf on Friday. So yeah, plenty of golf."

Most Valuable Player, Romario Shepherd: "Well, at that stage [batting], the coach just told us to hold a bit, because we have a lot of overs remaining. And me and Hamilton built a partnership there, at the end of the game. It worked out, one of us gets off. And, you know, we got a good total on the board. [Do you love batting?] Yeah, I love batting [laughter]. Hitting sixes. That's the best part about batting for me. They were bowling well at one stage, and Gerald was bowling really fast. I was just trying to get out of the way of a few [deliveries] from him. And also, the way Gannon bowled at me in the second-to-last over was crucial. Because I think that some of the balls were really stopping on me. [Dressing Room environment] Really, really good. The coaches are in control of everything. The training and stuff has been going well. So I'm not surprised the way the result that is coming out from the field because you know the way we train is the way we play."

Heinrich Klaasen: "We were quite happy with that. Maybe 10-20 runs too much, but we were quite happy to chase that down. [Generate batters form] It's tough in this format, you generate too much form by going almost backwards, like playing like a wonder innings. You have to play the game quite positively, and hopefully, the wheels just turn. The only hope that you hold on to is if you're hitting the ball nicely, which a lot of the guys are doing. We just keep finding fielders and keep finding ways to go out, and if the game goes against you, it's part of it. So as long as we keep hitting the ball nicely, our mindsets are positive. Hopefully we will trip. [Shayan] I've heard about him. He's come off a good series before this tournament started. We haven't seen a lot from him, so the first game, that's why he probably missed out. We had another look at him, and he's brilliant. He's quite aggressive, the type of guy that we want at the top of the order, you can hear it off the bat. He's a good player, so hopefully he can kick on. He's getting good starts, but we need guys to get on big scores. [Next plan] We're still very much in it to get to the Playoffs. The three teams at the bottom are not playing good cricket at this moment, and they're all just one or two games away from getting into that Playoff spot. So hopefully the other teams lose this and we can get on to a little bit of a run. There are still four or five games there for us, and hopefully four games can put us close by.

10:50 pm Another tough loss for the Seattle Orcas, they were in the game for quite a while, but they're still waiting for their first win of the season. On the other hand, it's six wins in a row for the San Francisco Unicorns, making them the first team this season to qualify for the Playoffs! The Orcas certainly got off to a flying start, smashing 29 runs in the first two overs. Jahangir looked fantastic throughout his innings, playing some great shots all over the field to score 40 runs off just 22 balls. However, Shepherd got the breakthrough, dismissing Shayan in the 7th over. Then, in the very next over, Short picked up two massive wickets, sending Warner and Mayers back to the pavilion. After that, wickets just kept tumbling for the Orcas, with Klaasen once again getting out cheaply. Shimron Hetmyer and Sujit Nayak then offered a glimmer of hope for Orcas fans, patiently rebuilding the innings with a solid partnership. But their jubilation was short-lived, as they began to lose wickets in quick succession. Rauf provided the final blows, dismissing Coetzee and Hetmyer in the same over. The Unicorns' fielding was superb, and Matt Short once again demonstrated excellent captaincy. Rauf was the Unicorns' best bowler, taking four wickets. Short also took three wickets, while Shepherd grabbed two. Post Match presentation coming up shortly.

San Francisco Unicorns won by 32 runs

Odinlass : "Next match? I am anxious that it might be next season, Akash."

Bartlett to bowl the penultimate over

Sam: "do SFU qualify if they win today? " Yes

Akash: "Thought the Orcas would break their losing streak today...seems like will have to wait for the next match."

45 off 18 deliveries. Haris, Shepherd and perhaps Couch to bowl the remaining overs? Let's see. Here's Rauf

Odinlass : "That was caught even before I could finish saying "shot". The Seattle Orcas are having a miserable season."

AZHAR : "Haris bowled a game-changing over. "

Tee: "Feels like it's hettie or bust for the orcas" Not Hettie's day, though.

Ashesh : "Hetmyer need to take responsibility from here on. But he's been on similar situations before and have hardly played responsibly"

Jrm: "Feels like klassen is getting that captaincy pressure as well, as a batter he did had a good ipl and there batting looks absolute bleak as compare to other teams"

Strategic Timeout