The game was a slugfest, with the Unicorns breaking multiple MLC records. Unicorns opener Finn Allen hit a league record 19 sixes (that’s the cricket equivalent of a home run), in a game that saw the Unicorns also break the league record for the widest margin of victory.
Unlike other major league sports in the U.S., MLC does not have a home-and-away stadium format. Instead, the six teams in the league play tournament-style.
The Coliseum is set to host nine matches over the next week before the tournament moves to Texas and Florida for the remainder of the season.
With the arrival of cricket at the Coliseum, the MLC hopes to tap into dedicated fans in the Bay Area as it seeks to grow the sport’s reach in the United States. The sport is particularly popular among the Bay Area’s South Asian communities.
“ You can walk through any park in the city of Fremont on a weekend, and you’ll see that the fields are packed,” Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan said during a news conference on Wednesday at the Coliseum. “ This is more than just a game. It’s a celebration of our diversity, and a dream come true for so many local fans.”
Subbu Kuchibhotla, who plays in a weekend league in Fremont, said he’s seen cricket grow exponentially in the South Bay in recent years.
“There’s about six or seven leagues across San Ramon, Fremont, Sunnyvale, you name it. It’s pretty competitive,” Kuchibhotla said.
The Coliseum games mark a bittersweet moment for the city of Oakland, which has seen the departure of the Warriors, the Raiders and most recently the A’s. The stadium has had a second life, hosting other local professional sports teams, such as the Oakland Roots and Soul soccer clubs.
Mikey Seraydarian of Oakland said he’s recently gotten into cricket and is just excited to see a sports team call the Coliseum home again.
“I’ll take any chance to be in the Coliseum again. Even just like walking over the BART bridge, I got chills,” Seraydarian said.
During the Wednesday news conference, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee thanked MLC for investing $3 million into improvements to the Coliseum to help make it ready for cricket. These efforts included trucking in a pitch — the hard grassy surface similar to an infield in baseball — from the East Coast and bringing in cricket groundskeeping experts from Australia.
“ We are deeply grateful. That’s jobs. That’s economic activity. That’s energy and momentum for this part of town, and that’s what our residents need the most,” Lee said.
According to city officials, the MLC games at the Coliseum are an opportunity to showcase the venue as a probable host for cricket matches in the 2028 Olympics. The sport is set to return to the Summer Games for only the second time in Olympic history, after a 128-year hiatus.
All six teams in the MLC have an obligation to build a home stadium in the coming years. Whether MLC will return to the Coliseum next season is still up in the air, as is the future ownership of the Coliseum itself.
The unicorns said in a statement to KQED: “As we look to the future, we’re actively exploring all options for a permanent home for Bay Area cricket fans to enjoy for generations to come.”
