Cameron White named new San Francisco Unicorns head coach

Cameron White, the former Australia allrounder, has been promoted to head coach of San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket after taking over the role from Shane Watson.

White will have a "year-round, hands-on role" as Unicorns strive for a maiden MLC title after unsuccessful playoff runs in 2024 and 2025.

He had been the right hand man for Watson, who coached the franchise across the first three seasons of the American T20 competition. White will juggle the responsibilities with his role as head coach of Melbourne Renegades, who this season finished second last on the BBL ladder in his second year in charge.

White's appointment comes hot on the heels of Perth Scorchers' title-winning coach Adam Voges recently taking up the reins of Seattle Orcas.

"Working with the Unicorns last season, I've seen first-hand the potential for this franchise to not only grow within MLC, but become a globally-recognised brand around the world," White said. "As head coach, this will be very much an evolution, rather than a revolution.

"What will change is my year-round input into team development and scouting activities, and I hope this more holistic, data-led approach will put us in a strong position to bring success to the Unicorns in the coming years."

White, a protege of veteran coach Greg Shipperd, started his coaching career with assistant roles at Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Sixers. During his long playing career, White played four Test matches and was also a white-ball captain for Australia while he had much success at the domestic level with Victoria and won a BBL title with Renegades.

Unicorns, owned by venture capitalists Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, has a high-performance partnership with Cricket Victoria.

"We've been hugely impressed by Cam's knowledge base, attitude, and buy-in to the Unicorns," Rajaraman said. "This year-round, more integrated appointment as head coach will allow him to execute on his cricketing philosophies more comprehensively.

"And working alongside an already established back-office and performance setup, our first championship title is one step closer."

Meanwhile, Unicorns have signed seam bowling allrounder Aaron Hardie who returns to MLC after playing for Texas Super Kings in 2024.

Hardie, who has played 31 white-ball matches for Australia, was named in the BBL team of the tournament after an outstanding season with bat and ball, filling numerous roles for Scorchers. He claimed the key wicket of Steven Smith in the final as Scorchers stormed to a six-wicket victory in front of 55,000 home fans.

Hardie will link up with Scorchers team-mate Finn Allen, who has been at Unicorns since the MLC launched in 2023.

"He [Allen] was kind enough to get me across. I love playing with Finn, he's great to have around," Hardie told ESPNcricinfo. "I got my chance to play in America a couple of years ago, which was really enjoyable. Keen to get back over there. I'm very excited."