The Tri-Valley’s sunny days and year-around moderate climate has made it a paradise for athletes and sports enthusiasts. From baseball to basketball to badminton to golf; from hiking to soccer to swimming to track, the Tri-Valley region offers facilities for virtually every popular sport–including sports that are seeing a new emergence in popularity such as cricket and pickleball. 

Cricket’s Surprising History

While the roots of Cricket can be traced back to 16th century England, its rules did not become formalized until nearly 1800, according to writer Ben Johnson, who describes cricket as “a cross between baseball and chess.” Pleasanton's first cricket pitch opened at Alisal Elementary school in May 2021. District officials said the field was developed “to serve a significant growing number of Tri-Valley residents who have an interest in cricket,” according Ryan J. Degan in an article for Pleasanton Weekly.

In September, the City Council for Pleasanton unanimously approved a new cricket field at Ken Mercer Sports Park. At long last, adult residents will be able to play cricket at a public field in Pleasanton. While design and construction of the new field may take up to 16 months, the concept has been in the works for nearly 10 years, according to Christian Trujano, who reported on the  development for the Pleasanton Weekly.

“The idea to bring a cricket field to Pleasanton started in 2014 when the Parks and Recreation Master Plan highlighted the need to cooperate with youth programs and identify their needs for more programs,” according to Trujano. “Mayor Karla Brown also said when the council was looking at the city's priorities two years ago, lines of kids came forward saying that they want to learn how to play cricket and want a pitch to do that.”

As noted by the Independent News, “Cricket is a team sport involving a flat bat and several hard balls, played on a circular field with a rectangular pitch at its center.” The Chicago Tribune explains it thusly: “Cricket is played with two teams of 11 players each. Each team takes turns batting and playing the field, as in baseball. In cricket, the batter is a batsman and the pitcher is a bowler. The bowler tries to knock down the bail of the wicket. A batsman tries to prevent the bowler from hitting the wicket by hitting the ball. Two batsmen are on the pitch at the same time.”

Some observers have said that cricket has no place in America. The sport’s  surprising history proves them wrong. “Cricket—now played by millions of people in 92 countries ranging from the Caribbean to Europe to Africa to South Asia—was once the national game of, yes, these United States. And one of the first outdoor sports to be played on these shores,” writes Simon Worrall for Smithsonian Magazine. “An 1844 cricket match between teams from the United States and Canada was the first international sporting event in the modern world, predating the revival of the Olympic Games by more than 50 years.”

Moreover, at least one American athlete made a lasting contribution to the game. “The greatest American cricketer, a witty but tough Philadelphian named J. Barton King, was one of the fastest bowlers of his generation, and on a 1908 tour of England he set bowling records that stood for more than 40 years,” according to Worrall.

It is likely that future American athletes will have a lasting impact on cricket, and some of them may well be from the Tri-Valley, thanks to Cricket for Cubs. This nonprofit was founded by Pleasanton resident Ramesh Immadi in 2015. Cricket for Cubs has introduced the sport to more than 4,000 students through physical education and after-school programs throughout the Tri-Valley and was named a 2018 Tri-Valley Hero for its work with youth. 

Pickleball Explodes in Popularity

The International Federation of Pickleball currently has 48 member countries in Europe, Africa, South America, Asia, Oceania and North America. While Pickleball is played in far fewer countries than cricket, that may change as this new sport explodes in popularity. Invented by three fathers in 1965, this paddle sport can be played indoors or outdoors.

Pickleball is booming in the United States. Games use rectangular paddles and special balls. Games, which can be played by singles or doubles, are played to 11 points and must be won by two points. Pickleball courts are smaller than tennis courts at 44 feet long, inclusive of lines, and 20 feet wide, inclusive of lines. Players of all ages are drawn to the sport, which is especially popular among families and Baby Boomers. Writer Dara Katz notes that pickleball’s popularity is understandable because the sport offers “the fun back-and-forth volleying of tennis, but because of lighter equipment and smaller courts, both non-athletes and fitness aficionados can play better for longer and more often. Plus, the smaller courts mean you can be chattier with your playmates.”

With the success of pickleball has come Major League Pickleball, an elite, professional sports league with 12 teams. Each squad has two men and two women. One sign of pickleball’s success is that basketball superstar LeBron James, football legend Tom Brady, and several other notable sports figures have announced investments in Major League Pickleball teams over the past two months.

Another sign is the new Tri-Valley Pickleball Club. The club was launched early this year and quickly added members. In October, the group held an inaugural event called the Harvest Crush Tournament in Livermore. The Harvest Crush Tournament is intended to become an annual event.

"Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the United States, and our region of California is working to provide enough courts to accommodate the growing number of players," Kirby Wong, President of the Tri-Valley Pickleball Club, told Pleasanton Weekly reporter Jeremy Walsh. "Nationally, other cities are recognizing the tourism value of the sport when tournaments draw players who spend money for hotels, dining, and shopping. We hope that our region will grow the same interest, and this tournament is a start in that direction.”

Local residents who love cricket or pickleball now have a growing number of opportunities to enjoy them. Of course, the Tri-Valley supports many other sports and outdoor activities, both ancient and more recent. Consider quidditch. According to writer Alan Black, “The sport of quidditch in its most widely-accepted form was begun at Middlebury College in Vermont in 2005.” What was, originally, an imaginary sport has become excitingly real. In July, the US Quidditch organization, in partnership with Visit Tri-Valley, brought the West Regional Championship of Quidditch to Dublin, where local fans cheered on the teams. In short, the Tri-Valley is a wonderful place to live, work, and play–no matter which sport or activity you favor.

For more information about the City of Pleasanton’s sports facilities and programs, please visit www.cityofpleasantonca.gov/gov/depts/library_and_recreation/default.asp.

For more information about Cricket for Cubs, please visit www.cricketforcubs.org.

For more information about Tri-Valley Pickleball Club, please visit www.trivalleypickleballclub.com.

Photos by Brendan Sapp, Eduardo Balderas and Joan Azeka on Unsplash