OAKLAND — Cricket brings together people from all over the world and all walks of life.
An Indian, an Indian-American, an Australian and an Englishman all traveled together from the Central Valley to watch Major League Cricket’s first-ever match at the Oakland Coliseum.
They were joined by 5,126 fans waving San Francisco Unicorns flags and sporting the home team’s trademark orange. And they were treated to a show, as players from San Francisco and the Washington Freedom ignited the crowd with a parade of sixes – the cricket equivalent of home runs.
The foursome sported banana costumes, an apparel choice they picked up watching international cricket on television. Their enthusiasm matched their spirited choice of attire.
San Francisco Unicorns’ Jake Fraser-McGurk (33) and Finn Allen (16) celebrate a six against the Washington Freedom during the inaugural Major League Cricket opener at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
“We watch a lot of test cricket, like England versus Australia, a lot of international teams, and we always see guys in the crowd wearing a banana outfit,” said Jasprit Buhmra, a native of India who now lives in Fresno. “And we’re like, ‘You know what? Why not be those guys?’ So we’re like, ‘Yeah, we’ll come here. We’ll be those guys.’ Have a good time, get the crowd going.”
The Unicorns gave the fans a lot to stand up and cheer about early on. Batting first, they unleashed six after six during a prolific batting campaign that resulted in 269 runs.
San Francisco was still batting when the Bay Area News Group went to print. Unicorns batter Finn Allen completed a century, driving in 151 runs by himself, and SJSU student Sanjay Krishnamurthi drove in the second-most with 36.
This gave Daniel Buny, a fellow banana-clad fan and friend of Buhmra’s, great pleasure. The two had a side bet on the game.
Fans celebrate a six by the San Francisco Unicorns against the Washington Freedom during the inaugural Major League Cricket opener at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Buny was all in on the Unicorns, while Buhmra had bet on the Freedom. How much?
“Too much,” Buhmra said while watching San Francisco rip six after six.
They brought along their friend A.J. Singh, an Indian-American and cricket novice who grew up in Turlock and was a fan of the Raiders and A’s.
“I just never grew up around it,” Singh said of cricket. “I’ll be honest, I grew up around soccer, baseball. That’s pretty much it, those two sports I played. And they asked me, ‘Hey, you want to check out a cricket game at the Coliseum?’ So I figured, why not? Give it a shot, see what it’s about.”
The San Francisco Unicorns bowlers practice bowling before the inaugural Major League Cricket season opener against the Washington Freedom at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The foursome started up a cricket game in the parking lot before the game and got some kids involved while tailgating. The late-arriving crowd then moved into the stadium, and while the attendance seemed sparse amid the 63,000-seat capacity of the Coliseum, the fans who made it to San Francisco’s first home match brought the noise to a venue that has been missing major league sports since the A’s departure in September.
“It’s very important,” Singh said. “Because the people of Oakland, they need something. The Warriors are gone. Raiders are gone. So it’s just a sad situation.”
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“Oakland has such a great history of sports,” Buhmra added. “Honestly, keeping sport in Oakland is so important. I mean, the culture here is so unbelievable. The arena is so beautiful. For them to be able to convert it into a cricket pitch, soccer, to be able to do what they do is so important.”
For Bobby Bent, a native of Australia, cricket is a way of life, and one that he was excited the fans in Oakland got to experience on Thursday night.
The San Francisco Unicorns warmup before the inaugural Major League Cricket season opener against the Washington Freedom at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
“It’s in my blood,” Bent said. “In Australia, I mean, it’s mandatory for everyone to at least try out cricket. Everyone’s touched a bat, touched a ball. But it was a huge surprise for me to come all the way here to the States and have an atmosphere that’s very similar. I feel right at home right now. I really can’t complain. It can’t get much better than this.
“This is our first time with my mates here as well that I met from this country. So it’s just awesome, man.”
The San Francisco Unicorns and the Washington Freedom stand during the national anthem before the inaugural Major League Cricket opener at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
A San Francisco Unicorns bowler practices bowling before the inaugural Major League Cricket season opener against the Washington Freedom at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Unicorns’ Jake Fraser-McGurk (33) makes a run against the Washington Freedom during the inaugural Major League Cricket opener at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Unicorns’ Finn Allen (16) hits a six against the Washington Freedom during the inaugural Major League Cricket opener at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Fans celebrate a six by the San Francisco Unicorns against the Washington Freedom during the inaugural Major League Cricket opener at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)