The International Cricket Council (ICC) has promised that it would directly help USA cricketers so that their future would not be impacted by the ongoing situation in USAC. After the suspension of USA Cricket, also known as USAC, which has now gone bankrupt, ICC has promised to take care of player welfare in the United States.
Background: Suspension of USA Cricket
In September, ICC suspended USA Cricket following its observations of serious infringement of ICC membership requirements. However, matters went south for USAC after they filed for bankruptcy, not too long after discontinuing their contract with American Cricket Enterprise (ACE). These events caused some concern regarding player wages, staff, and elite cricket structures within USAC.
ICC to Take on All Responsibilities of Player Welfare
To safeguard USA cricketers, ICC announced it is prepared to fund and, if necessary, manage all aspects of the USA High-Performance Programme during USAC’s suspension. This includes:
- Honouring Player contracts
- Salaries of highly performing staff
- Smooth preparations for international tournaments.
ICC confirmed it had offered USAC a loan to cover salaries after the bankruptcy filing, but this was rejected. Consequently, the ICC is now looking for ways of making payments directly to players and staff on USAC’s behalf.
Major Global Events Remain a Priority
Yet, the ICC made a clear point of the fact that the United States will be able to remain competitive despite the USAC dysfunction. Future commitments include:
- Under-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe (January)
- ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India and Sri Lanka (February-March)
- Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games which will mark the return of cricket to the Olympics after 100 years for LA28.
The ICC made it clear that issues within USAC’s governance would not affect USA’s participation or performance at these events.
Collaboration with USOPC for LA28
Further, to ensure a more secure future for cricket in the United States, ICC is working closely with the USOPC to create a well-stabled, high-performance pathway that sees USA cricketers being fully prepared for LA28.
An ICC spokesperson reaffirmed:
“Our first obligation is to those players representing the United States on the global stage, and for that, the ICC is prepared to manage and finance the High-Performance Programme to give all National Team players the support they need and deserve.”
Governance Reforms and Domestic Cricket Oversight
The ICC’s Normalisation Committee will continue striving for the resolution of long-standing governance challenges currently besetting USAC. In the meantime:
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The ICC will directly oversee the sanctioning of domestic tournaments
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Competitions such as Major League Cricket will continue under ICC supervision
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