3rd Edition of Bay Area Women Open T20 Cricket Powered by 3 Minor League Teams - Blazers, Grizzlies and Strikers
The three Bay Area Minor League Cricket franchises, Silicon Valley Strikers, San Ramon Grizzlies, and Bay Blazers—have joined forces to host this year’s tournament under the Bay Area Women’s Open T20 banner. This collaboration creates a unified platform to elevate women’s cricket across the Bay Area and USA.
Sunnyvale, CA, September 05, 2026 --(PR.com)-- Bay Area Cricket Unites to Build a Stronger Pathway for Women
Bay Blazers, Silicon Valley Strikers and San Ramon Grizzlies Join Forces with NCCA and San Francisco Unicorns to Launch the Bay Area Open Cricket Platform
Blazers Bay Area Open, launched in 2024, evolves in its third edition into the Bay Area Women’s Open — bringing together 161 women cricketers from 15+ U.S. states and Canada across Elite and Premier divisions during Labor Day Weekend 2026
What started as a tournament in 2024 is evolving into a unified movement for women’s cricket in the Bay Area.
The Blazers Bay Area Open, launched in 2024 with the vision of creating a high-quality national competition for women cricketers, enters its third consecutive edition in 2026 with a significantly larger purpose.
Beginning this year, the tournament becomes the Bay Area Women’s Open, the first major initiative under the newly launched Bay Area Open Cricket Platform.
The platform brings together the Bay Area’s three Minor League Cricket organizations — Bay Blazers, Silicon Valley Strikers and San Ramon Grizzlies — with the support of the Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA) and the San Francisco Unicorns, the Bay Area’s Major League Cricket organization.
The initiative is led by Biju Nair, Founder & CEO of Bay Blazers, and co-chaired by Jayanth Chakraworthy, CEO of Silicon Valley Strikers, and Samir Shah, CEO of San Ramon Grizzlies, with the support of Prakash Giri, President of NCCA, and David White, CEO of the San Francisco Unicorns.
Together, these organizations are making a powerful statement:
Women’s cricket grows stronger when the cricket community builds the pathway together.
From Blazers Bay Area Open to a Bay Area-Wide Platform
When Bay Blazers launched the Blazers Bay Area Open in 2024, the objective was to create a national-quality stage where women cricketers could compete, gain visibility and inspire the next generation.
After two consecutive editions, the third edition represents a defining transition.
Rather than continuing as an event driven by one organization, the initiative is expanding into a collaborative Bay Area platform.
The vision is to connect the different levels of the cricket ecosystem — grassroots programs, academies, clubs, NCCA, Minor League Cricket organizations and Major League Cricket — around a common objective: creating a stronger, more visible and sustainable pathway for women and girls.
161 Players. 15+ U.S. States and Canada. Nine Teams. One Stage.
The launch of the unified platform coincides with the strongest edition of the tournament to date.
A total of 161 women cricketers representing 15+ states across the United States, along with players from Canada, have registered for the 2026 Bay Area Women’s Open, underscoring the tournament’s growing national and North American footprint.
The competition will feature nine teams across two divisions, bringing together teams representing multiple regions:
Elite Division — 4 Teams
Two teams from the East Coast and two teams from the West Coast
Premier Division — 5 Teams
Representing the Southwest, Northwest, Central and Eastern regions
This geographic diversity reinforces the Bay Area Women’s Open as a national platform where players and organizations from across North America come together for one weekend of high-quality women’s cricket.
International Experience Meets the Next Generation
The depth and quality of the 2026 player pool demonstrate how far the tournament has progressed since its inaugural edition in 2024.
Approximately 30 registered players have represented the United States or Canada in international cricket at senior or age-group levels, forming the tournament’s Tier 1 player category.
Beyond the international players, more than 80 women in the player pool have competed within the USA cricket pathway at intra-regional, regional or zonal levels.
The result is a unique competitive environment where established international cricketers, national pathway players and emerging talent will compete on the same stage.
For developing players, the opportunity to play alongside and against cricketers who have already represented their countries provides exactly the kind of competitive exposure the Bay Area Open Cricket Platform aims to create.
Labor Day Weekend: The Bay Area Becomes a National Stage for Women’s Cricket
During Labor Day Weekend 2026, players from across the United States and Canada will converge on the San Francisco Bay Area for the third edition of the tournament.
Matches will be hosted across some of the Bay Area’s renowned turf cricket venues, including:
Taarika Cricket Ground
Wilson Cricket Field, Santa Clara
Easterbrook Cricket Ground, Moreland School District
Ortega Cricket Field, Sunnyvale
Across these venues, nine teams will compete in the Elite and Premier divisions, creating a major national showcase for women’s cricket in the Bay Area.
From Competition to Collaboration
The coming together of Bay Blazers, Silicon Valley Strikers and San Ramon Grizzlies represents an important shift.
The three Minor League organizations will continue to compete fiercely on the cricket field. But when it comes to developing the game and creating opportunities for women and young players, they share a larger responsibility to work together.
Biju Nair — Founder & CEO, Bay Blazers
“From the beginning, our ambition was bigger than running another tournament. We wanted to create something that could contribute to a real pathway for women and girls in cricket. After building the Bay Area Open over the first two editions, we felt the most meaningful next step was not to make it bigger by ourselves, but to bring the Bay Area cricket community together. Having Bay Blazers, Silicon Valley Strikers and San Ramon Grizzlies standing together, with NCCA and the San Francisco Unicorns supporting this initiative, sends an important message to every young girl playing cricket here: there is a community committed to building a pathway for you. We may compete on the field, but when it comes to growing cricket, we are always better together.”
Jayanth Chakraworthy — CEO, Silicon Valley Strikers
“Organizations will always compete on the field, and that competition makes cricket stronger. But when it comes to developing the game and creating opportunities for women and young players, there are areas where we should stand together. The Bay Area has the talent, infrastructure and cricket community to become one of the strongest centers for women’s cricket in the country. The Bay Area Open gives us an opportunity to work toward that collectively.”
Samir Shah — CEO, San Ramon Grizzlies
“The strength of Bay Area cricket comes from its entire ecosystem. When organizations collaborate around a common purpose, we can create opportunities at a scale that would be difficult for any organization to create independently. The Bay Area Women’s Open is an important beginning, and we hope this collaborative model continues to grow.”
NCCA Supports the Unified Pathway
The support of the Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA) connects the initiative with the broader Northern California cricket ecosystem.
Prakash Giri — President, NCCA
“Northern California has seen tremendous growth in cricket, particularly at the youth level. Creating a visible and sustainable pathway for girls and women is an important part of the next phase of that growth. NCCA is pleased to support an initiative that brings organizations together and creates stronger opportunities for players across our cricket community.”
San Francisco Unicorns Support the Initiative
The involvement of the San Francisco Unicorns adds another important dimension by connecting grassroots and developmental cricket with the Bay Area’s Major League Cricket organization.
David White — CEO, San Francisco Unicorns
“The Bay Area has an extraordinary cricket community, and initiatives such as the Bay Area Women’s Open demonstrate what is possible when that community works together. Building sustainable opportunities for women and young players is important for the long-term growth of cricket in this region. We are pleased to support an initiative that brings the Bay Area cricket community together around that goal.”
Building a Pathway — Not Just a Tournament
The ambition behind the Bay Area Open Cricket Platform extends beyond one tournament or one Labor Day weekend.
The goal is to create a collaborative environment connecting the entire cricket pathway — from a young girl picking up a cricket bat for the first time, through youth and pathway cricket, to elite domestic competition and ultimately international cricket.
The Bay Area Women’s Open becomes the first major expression of that vision.
The numbers behind the 2026 edition tell the story:
161 registered women cricketers.
Players from 15+ U.S. states and Canada.
9 teams representing the East Coast, West Coast, Southwest, Northwest, Central and Eastern regions.
Around 30 players with USA or Canada international representation.
More than 80 players with USA pathway experience.
Three Bay Area Minor League organizations coming together.
NCCA supporting the pathway.
The San Francisco Unicorns supporting the initiative.
But the bigger story is what those numbers represent.
A tournament that started with one organization is becoming a platform shared by an entire cricket community.
2024 → 2025 → 2026
2024 — A Tournament Was Launched
Bay Blazers created the Blazers Bay Area Open, establishing a national platform for women’s cricket in the Bay Area.
2025 — The Platform Grew
The second consecutive edition strengthened participation, competition and national visibility.
2026 — The Bay Area Comes Together
Bay Blazers, Silicon Valley Strikers and San Ramon Grizzlies come together with the support of NCCA and the San Francisco Unicorns to take the initiative into its next chapter as the Bay Area Women’s Open, under the broader Bay Area Open Cricket Platform.
What began as the Blazers Bay Area Open is becoming something much bigger:
A tournament becoming a platform.
Organizations becoming partners.
Competition creating collaboration.
Collaboration creating opportunity.
And opportunity creating a pathway.
One Bay Area. One Vision. One Pathway.
Bay Blazers | Silicon Valley Strikers | San Ramon Grizzlies
With the support of the Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA) and the San Francisco Unicorns
Always Better Together.
About the Bay Area Open Cricket Platform
The Bay Area Open Cricket Platform is a collaborative initiative bringing together organizations across the San Francisco Bay Area to create high-quality cricket opportunities and strengthen player development pathways.
The Bay Area Women’s Open 2026, the third edition of the tournament originally launched as the Blazers Bay Area Open in 2024, is the first major initiative under the platform.
Media Contact
Bay Area Open Cricket Platform
https://www.bayareaopencricket.com/
Biju Nair, 408-768-1976
Bay Blazers, Silicon Valley Strikers and San Ramon Grizzlies Join Forces with NCCA and San Francisco Unicorns to Launch the Bay Area Open Cricket Platform
Blazers Bay Area Open, launched in 2024, evolves in its third edition into the Bay Area Women’s Open — bringing together 161 women cricketers from 15+ U.S. states and Canada across Elite and Premier divisions during Labor Day Weekend 2026
What started as a tournament in 2024 is evolving into a unified movement for women’s cricket in the Bay Area.
The Blazers Bay Area Open, launched in 2024 with the vision of creating a high-quality national competition for women cricketers, enters its third consecutive edition in 2026 with a significantly larger purpose.
Beginning this year, the tournament becomes the Bay Area Women’s Open, the first major initiative under the newly launched Bay Area Open Cricket Platform.
The platform brings together the Bay Area’s three Minor League Cricket organizations — Bay Blazers, Silicon Valley Strikers and San Ramon Grizzlies — with the support of the Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA) and the San Francisco Unicorns, the Bay Area’s Major League Cricket organization.
The initiative is led by Biju Nair, Founder & CEO of Bay Blazers, and co-chaired by Jayanth Chakraworthy, CEO of Silicon Valley Strikers, and Samir Shah, CEO of San Ramon Grizzlies, with the support of Prakash Giri, President of NCCA, and David White, CEO of the San Francisco Unicorns.
Together, these organizations are making a powerful statement:
Women’s cricket grows stronger when the cricket community builds the pathway together.
From Blazers Bay Area Open to a Bay Area-Wide Platform
When Bay Blazers launched the Blazers Bay Area Open in 2024, the objective was to create a national-quality stage where women cricketers could compete, gain visibility and inspire the next generation.
After two consecutive editions, the third edition represents a defining transition.
Rather than continuing as an event driven by one organization, the initiative is expanding into a collaborative Bay Area platform.
The vision is to connect the different levels of the cricket ecosystem — grassroots programs, academies, clubs, NCCA, Minor League Cricket organizations and Major League Cricket — around a common objective: creating a stronger, more visible and sustainable pathway for women and girls.
161 Players. 15+ U.S. States and Canada. Nine Teams. One Stage.
The launch of the unified platform coincides with the strongest edition of the tournament to date.
A total of 161 women cricketers representing 15+ states across the United States, along with players from Canada, have registered for the 2026 Bay Area Women’s Open, underscoring the tournament’s growing national and North American footprint.
The competition will feature nine teams across two divisions, bringing together teams representing multiple regions:
Elite Division — 4 Teams
Two teams from the East Coast and two teams from the West Coast
Premier Division — 5 Teams
Representing the Southwest, Northwest, Central and Eastern regions
This geographic diversity reinforces the Bay Area Women’s Open as a national platform where players and organizations from across North America come together for one weekend of high-quality women’s cricket.
International Experience Meets the Next Generation
The depth and quality of the 2026 player pool demonstrate how far the tournament has progressed since its inaugural edition in 2024.
Approximately 30 registered players have represented the United States or Canada in international cricket at senior or age-group levels, forming the tournament’s Tier 1 player category.
Beyond the international players, more than 80 women in the player pool have competed within the USA cricket pathway at intra-regional, regional or zonal levels.
The result is a unique competitive environment where established international cricketers, national pathway players and emerging talent will compete on the same stage.
For developing players, the opportunity to play alongside and against cricketers who have already represented their countries provides exactly the kind of competitive exposure the Bay Area Open Cricket Platform aims to create.
Labor Day Weekend: The Bay Area Becomes a National Stage for Women’s Cricket
During Labor Day Weekend 2026, players from across the United States and Canada will converge on the San Francisco Bay Area for the third edition of the tournament.
Matches will be hosted across some of the Bay Area’s renowned turf cricket venues, including:
Taarika Cricket Ground
Wilson Cricket Field, Santa Clara
Easterbrook Cricket Ground, Moreland School District
Ortega Cricket Field, Sunnyvale
Across these venues, nine teams will compete in the Elite and Premier divisions, creating a major national showcase for women’s cricket in the Bay Area.
From Competition to Collaboration
The coming together of Bay Blazers, Silicon Valley Strikers and San Ramon Grizzlies represents an important shift.
The three Minor League organizations will continue to compete fiercely on the cricket field. But when it comes to developing the game and creating opportunities for women and young players, they share a larger responsibility to work together.
Biju Nair — Founder & CEO, Bay Blazers
“From the beginning, our ambition was bigger than running another tournament. We wanted to create something that could contribute to a real pathway for women and girls in cricket. After building the Bay Area Open over the first two editions, we felt the most meaningful next step was not to make it bigger by ourselves, but to bring the Bay Area cricket community together. Having Bay Blazers, Silicon Valley Strikers and San Ramon Grizzlies standing together, with NCCA and the San Francisco Unicorns supporting this initiative, sends an important message to every young girl playing cricket here: there is a community committed to building a pathway for you. We may compete on the field, but when it comes to growing cricket, we are always better together.”
Jayanth Chakraworthy — CEO, Silicon Valley Strikers
“Organizations will always compete on the field, and that competition makes cricket stronger. But when it comes to developing the game and creating opportunities for women and young players, there are areas where we should stand together. The Bay Area has the talent, infrastructure and cricket community to become one of the strongest centers for women’s cricket in the country. The Bay Area Open gives us an opportunity to work toward that collectively.”
Samir Shah — CEO, San Ramon Grizzlies
“The strength of Bay Area cricket comes from its entire ecosystem. When organizations collaborate around a common purpose, we can create opportunities at a scale that would be difficult for any organization to create independently. The Bay Area Women’s Open is an important beginning, and we hope this collaborative model continues to grow.”
NCCA Supports the Unified Pathway
The support of the Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA) connects the initiative with the broader Northern California cricket ecosystem.
Prakash Giri — President, NCCA
“Northern California has seen tremendous growth in cricket, particularly at the youth level. Creating a visible and sustainable pathway for girls and women is an important part of the next phase of that growth. NCCA is pleased to support an initiative that brings organizations together and creates stronger opportunities for players across our cricket community.”
San Francisco Unicorns Support the Initiative
The involvement of the San Francisco Unicorns adds another important dimension by connecting grassroots and developmental cricket with the Bay Area’s Major League Cricket organization.
David White — CEO, San Francisco Unicorns
“The Bay Area has an extraordinary cricket community, and initiatives such as the Bay Area Women’s Open demonstrate what is possible when that community works together. Building sustainable opportunities for women and young players is important for the long-term growth of cricket in this region. We are pleased to support an initiative that brings the Bay Area cricket community together around that goal.”
Building a Pathway — Not Just a Tournament
The ambition behind the Bay Area Open Cricket Platform extends beyond one tournament or one Labor Day weekend.
The goal is to create a collaborative environment connecting the entire cricket pathway — from a young girl picking up a cricket bat for the first time, through youth and pathway cricket, to elite domestic competition and ultimately international cricket.
The Bay Area Women’s Open becomes the first major expression of that vision.
The numbers behind the 2026 edition tell the story:
161 registered women cricketers.
Players from 15+ U.S. states and Canada.
9 teams representing the East Coast, West Coast, Southwest, Northwest, Central and Eastern regions.
Around 30 players with USA or Canada international representation.
More than 80 players with USA pathway experience.
Three Bay Area Minor League organizations coming together.
NCCA supporting the pathway.
The San Francisco Unicorns supporting the initiative.
But the bigger story is what those numbers represent.
A tournament that started with one organization is becoming a platform shared by an entire cricket community.
2024 → 2025 → 2026
2024 — A Tournament Was Launched
Bay Blazers created the Blazers Bay Area Open, establishing a national platform for women’s cricket in the Bay Area.
2025 — The Platform Grew
The second consecutive edition strengthened participation, competition and national visibility.
2026 — The Bay Area Comes Together
Bay Blazers, Silicon Valley Strikers and San Ramon Grizzlies come together with the support of NCCA and the San Francisco Unicorns to take the initiative into its next chapter as the Bay Area Women’s Open, under the broader Bay Area Open Cricket Platform.
What began as the Blazers Bay Area Open is becoming something much bigger:
A tournament becoming a platform.
Organizations becoming partners.
Competition creating collaboration.
Collaboration creating opportunity.
And opportunity creating a pathway.
One Bay Area. One Vision. One Pathway.
Bay Blazers | Silicon Valley Strikers | San Ramon Grizzlies
With the support of the Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA) and the San Francisco Unicorns
Always Better Together.
About the Bay Area Open Cricket Platform
The Bay Area Open Cricket Platform is a collaborative initiative bringing together organizations across the San Francisco Bay Area to create high-quality cricket opportunities and strengthen player development pathways.
The Bay Area Women’s Open 2026, the third edition of the tournament originally launched as the Blazers Bay Area Open in 2024, is the first major initiative under the platform.
Media Contact
Bay Area Open Cricket Platform
https://www.bayareaopencricket.com/
Biju Nair, 408-768-1976
Contact
Bay Area Open Cricket
Biju Nair
408-768-1976
https://www.bayareaopencricket.com/
Biju Nair
408-768-1976
https://www.bayareaopencricket.com/
Contact
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3rd Edition of Bay Area Women Open T20 Cricket
3rd year in a row, this year unique with Blazers Strikers and Grizzlies coming together in Bay Area Cricket
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