On Tuesday evening (July 2), the San Francisco Unicorns vs Seattle Orcas (SF vs SEA) match will be played at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill during the 22nd match of the MLC 2025. 

MLC 2025, Match 22: SF vs SEA Probable XIs

San Francisco Unicorns Predicted Playing XI: Matthew Short (Captain), Finn Allen, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Jahmar Hamilton (wk), Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Hassan Khan, Romario Shephard, Haris Rauf, Xavier Bartlett, Brody Couch/Liam Plunkett, Carmi le Roux

Seattle Orcas Predicted Playing XI: Shayan Jahangir (wk), Aaron Jones, David Warner, Kyle Mayers, Heinrich Klaasen, Shimron Hetmyer, Sikandar Raza (Captain), Harmeet Singh, Waqar Salamkheil, Gerald Coetzee, Jasdeep Singh

See Also: MLC 2025: Probable Playing XI for SF vs SEA

MLC 2025, Match 22: SF vs SEA Dream11 Top Captains And Vice-captains

Top 3 Dream11 Captain choices

Matthew Short: Australian star Matthew Short has scored 271 runs in four innings of the MLC 2025 with an average of 67.75 and a strike rate of 192.19, including four half-centuries. His scores in this tournament are 61, 91, 52, and 67 runs, respectively. He has also taken three wickets in this tournament. 

Finn Allen: Despite scoring single digits in the last two games, New Zealand cricketer Finn Allen is the second leading run-scorer in the MLC 2025 by scoring 305 runs in five innings with an average of 50.83 and a strike rate of 236.43, including one century and two half-centuries. His scores in this competition are 151, 52, 13, 78, 4, and 7 runs, respectively.  

Shimron Hetmyer: West Indies cricketer Shimron Hetmyer has scored 231 runs in five innings with an average of 77.00 and a strike rate of 224.27. He produced unbeaten half-centuries in the last two games by scoring 97 not out and 64 not out. 

Top 3 Dream11 Vice-captain choices

Haris Rauf: Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf is the leading wicket-taker in the MLC 2025 with 17 wickets in seven matches, including recording two four-fers and one more three-wicket haul. He picked up at least one wicket in all seven matches of this tournament.  

Xavier Bartlett: Australian right-arm pacer Xavier Bartlett has picked up 14 wickets in seven matches of the MLC 2025, as he is the joint second leading wicket-taker of the tournament. He has recorded two four-wicket hauls in this tournament. 

Aaron Jones: USA cricketer Aaron Jones has scored 156 runs in five innings with an average of 31.20 and a strike rate of 133.33. He has recorded one half-century in this tournament, as he scored 44 and 73 runs in the last two matches, respectively.

In Match 20 of the 2025 Major League Cricket (MLC) competition, the Los Angeles Knight Riders clashed with the Seattle Orcas at Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas. The Orcas had won the toss and decided to bowl first. This was a high-scoring thriller as Seattle chased a strong target in the last over to post a historic five-wicket victory.

Los Angeles Knight Riders Innings

Los Angeles Knight Riders scored a big 202/4 batting first in their 20 overs. Andre Russell was the star, smacking 65 off 39 balls, finding boundaries at will during the death overs. Rovman Powell contributed the fireworks with a scorching 43 off 21 deliveries, and Saif Badar played an incendiary cameo of 41 off a mere 21 balls. Despite the onslaught of scores, the Seattle Orcas were able to grab a few wickets courtesy of Waqar Salamkheil, who took 2/29 from 4 neat overs. Harmeet Singh (1/17) was tight in the middle overs, and Ayan Desai grabbed one wicket but was costly with 1/54 in 4 overs.

Seattle Orcas Innings

In reply, the Orcas hunted down the target with a ball to spare, concluding at 206/5 in 19.5 overs. Aaron Jones was the mastermind of the successful pursuit, blasting 73 off a mere 38 balls with sheer hitting all around the ground. He was ably assisted by Shimron Hetmyer, who maintained his good form with a scorching 64 off 26 deliveries. Shayan Jahangir, too, contributed a useful 43 off 31 deliveries to keep the scoreboard rolling. L.A.'s best bowler was Jason Holder with 2/36 from his 4 overs. Tanveer Sangha (2/39) and Andre Russell (1/29) attempted to cut the flow, but the Orcas remained calm to secure the win.

See Also: MLC 2025: Points Table, leading run scorers and wicket takers after LAS vs SEA Match 20

Los Angeles Knight Riders vs Seattle Orcas: Match Scorecard

Los Angeles Knight Riders – 202/4 (20 Overs)

Seattle Orcas – 206/5 (19.5 Overs)

Aaron Jones, a talented batter for the USA cricket team, delivered a stunning performance in the T20 World Cup 2024 match against Canada. His unbeaten 94 led the USA to a memorable victory and showcased his potential to play at the highest level. Jones hopes this innings, one of the best debuts in T20 World Cup history, will open the eyes of cricket enthusiasts worldwide to his capabilities.

Aaron Jones’ Remarkable Knock

In a high-pressure match, Aaron Jones walked in at a precarious 42 for 2 in the seventh over, chasing a formidable target of 195. His response was spectacular, crafting an unbeaten 94 that steered his team to victory with seven wickets and 14 balls to spare. This inning, marked by precision, power, and poise, highlighted Jones’ skill and determination, proving his mettle on the world stage.

See Also: Top 5 Run-Scorers in T20 World Cup history

Reactions and Statements

Post-match, Jones expressed his hope that his performance would garner the recognition he deserves. “Sometimes, as a cricketer, you could go under the radar if you have a few low scores,” he said. “I always back myself and know I can perform at every level. [I am] happy that I came out on top and won the game for USA. I hope it opens the eyes of some people worldwide to the fact that I am good enough to play T20 cricket.”

Challenges and Criticisms

Despite his talents, Jones has faced his share of challenges. A few low scores had left him overlooked, and his release from the Major League Cricket earlier this year added to his hurdles. Not being selected by any team in the MLC draft was a setback, but Jones viewed it as a stepping stone in his journey.

“I believe in myself, I work hard and I just use [criticism] as motivation. I know that I’m good enough to play at the highest level, and whenever given the opportunity, I’ll do my best for sure. When I went out to bat tonight, I just saw it as another game to fight for me and bring my team as close as possible to the line, and if we get as close as possible to the line and over the line, it’s great for the team.”

“When I wasn’t selected in the Major League, I just took it as a stepping stone in the journey,” he said. “I would have loved to get drafted, so it goes sometimes. Hopefully tonight’s innings will probably open the eyes of those who don’t know me or USA cricket. We have great players here and that we have a lot of talent here and are willing to play at the highest level for sure.”

Jones’ Partnership with Andries Gous

A key aspect of Jones’ innings was his 131-run partnership with Andries Gous. This partnership, forged under pressure, turned the tide in favour of the USA. Gous’ 46-ball 65 complemented Jones’ innings perfectly, dismantling the Canadian bowling attack and setting the stage for a famous win.

“When I went out to bat, I told Gous, ‘right now we are in a spot of bother’,” Jones said. “If we want to win the game, we got to be aggressive, we got to be positive. Either we go down, die hard and we get bowled out for whatever score, or we try to get the score. We want to be fearless, we want to be positive, we want to play smart cricket. In being fearless, we want to have good shot selection as well. If you know you don’t sweep, don’t sweep. If you know you don’t use your feet, don’t use your feet, but be aggressive regardless.”

Is this his best knock for USA?

“It’s up there, to be honest,” Jones said. “Probably the best knock for me as a player for USA, or maybe it can come second to the hundred I scored when we gained ODI status. This one is special because it is a World Cup and we know Canada are our rivals, we are playing the first game of the World Cup and everybody’s watching us.”

USA next play Pakistan at the same venue on Thursday, and Jones said that they will continue to play fearless cricket against them as well as against India in ten days’ time.

“We just want to keep winning as much as possible, of course we can’t win every single game for the rest of our lives,” he said. “I don’t think our plan [for the rest of the tournament] is going to change much. We want to play fearless cricket, we want to play hard cricket, we want to play smart cricket. We are going into the Pakistan game with the same mindset. We want to play fearless cricket, regardless of who we play against.”

USA registered a convincing win by 7 wickets over Canada at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas in the first match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Aaron Jones and Andries Gous smashed swashbuckling knocks and helped the team win in the Canada vs USA match.

Canada players did well with the bat

The USA won the toss and opted to bowl first. Batting first, Canada openers Aaron Johnson (23 off 16) and Navneet Dhaliwal (61 off 44) got off to a steady start. They added 43 runs within the powerplay. Soon after, they lost 2 wickets before Nicholas Kirton came to steady the ship. He scored 51 off 31 with 3 fours and 2 sixes whereas Navneet Dhaliwal smashed 61 off 44 with 6 fours and 3 sixes as well.

However, after their dismissals, middle-order batters Shreyas Movva and Dilpreet Singh stepped up. While the former scored a quickfire 32* off 16 with 2 fours and 2 sixes, the latter’s quick 11 helped them to post a huge total of 194 runs in their allotted 20 overs with the loss of 5 wickets.

SEE ALSO: Rohit Sharma urges US Police to go easy with the pitch invader during IND vs BAN warm-up match

Aaron Jones played a stunning knock

While chasing, the USA had a poor start as their opener Steven Taylor got out for a 2-ball duck. Soon, they lost their other opener and captain Monank Patel for a mere score of 16 within the powerplay. However, Andries Gous and Aaron Jones joined hands to steady the ship. They added 131 runs for the third wicket where Andries Gous scored 65 off 46 with 7 fours and 3 sixes.

However, it was Aaron Jones who played a swashbuckling knock of 94* off 40 with the help of 4 fours and 10 sixes. Their quickfire knocks helped the side to reach the target within 17.4 overs as well. Meanwhile, this is the third-highest successfully chased in a T20 World Cup.

Notably, Jones also became the Player of the Match for his stunning knock. This was the highest individual score by a non-opener in a successful run-chase in T20 World Cup history as well. However, this was the second-highest score by any batter on T20 World Cup debut as well. He also hit the joint second most sixes in an innings in T20 World Cups. Gayle tops the chart with his 11 sixes.

Aaron Jones said after the game: “I don’t think it is easy to put it into words. Happy to get my team over the line. I thought anything under 200 is chaseable. We wanted to play aggressive cricket. I think I go through my process while I practice. To be honest, when my team is under pressure it gets the best out of me.”

Monank Patel said after the game: “We always we knew he (Aaron Jones) had the game. He played fearless cricket. Really happy to see the crowd in numbers, hope they continue to give us the support. We want to continue the way we play are playing (fearless cricket). We don’t want to change anything whether we play Pakistan or India.”