THIRD-YEAR MAJOR LEAGUE CRICKET LEAGUE HOPES TO KEEP GROWING THE SPORT IN THE USA

Attendance for the opening weekend totaled more than 25,000 as the third-year, six-team league kicked off its season with great support in the Bay Area...

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Australian cricket legend Adam Gilchrist had barely made it inside the Coliseum entrance when dozens of fans swarmed him, and he obliged every request for photos and autographs. Major League Cricket's week-long stop in the Bay Area last month had top officials in the sport thrilled with how the old Oakland Coliseum provides an ideal spot for the sport to thrive — even for major international competitions like World Cup and exhibition matches ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, when the sport makes its return for the first time in 100 years.

“I've been really pleased with the way it's been received,” Gilchrist said. “Clearly, the South Asian community up to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, that region, it's a religion there. And given the diaspora here and the number of South Asians in the community, I figured that they would have a keen following. It's great to see new faces to cricket.”

Attendance for the opening weekend totaled more than 25,000 as the third-year, six-team league kicked off its season with great support in the Bay Area. Then, cricket scored another major victory on June 29 in Dallas when the Texas Super Kings against MI New York drew a sellout of more than 6,100 with a standing-room only crowd at Grand Prairie Stadium — the largest regular-season attendance at that venue. It was the second-highest total for the sport at that venue behind the 2023 Championship Final. And new Major League Cricket CEO Johnny Grave is committed to keeping growing cricket in the U.S. just a few months into his tenure, which has included a move from Antigua in the West Indies to Dallas. He dreams of the day when all ages and skill sets are involved.