The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended USA Cricket's membership with immediate effect.
The sport’s governing body made the unprecedented move over “repeated and continued breaches of its obligations as an ICC member under the ICC's constitution”, it announced on Tuesday.
The ICC Board cited failures to implement a functional governance structure, lack of progress toward recognition by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and actions that caused reputational damage to the sport in the US and globally. It did not elaborate what those actions were.
The news comes at a disruptive time for the US national teams as they prepare for the 2028 Olympic Games on home soil in Los Angeles, where cricket will feature for the first time in 128 years.
But the ICC said that despite the suspension US national teams would keep their right to compete in ICC events, including the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2026, which they have qualified for, and the Olympics.
Management and administration of the teams will be overseen temporarily by the ICC or its representatives to maintain support for players and high-performance programs.
An ICC Normalisation Committee, working with ICC management, will set out the steps required for the suspension to be lifted and will monitor progress, including “demonstrable and specific” changes to governance, operations and the body's standing within the cricket ecosystem.
USA Cricket chief executive Johnathan Atkeison told BBC Sport: "We were informed by the ICC of the decision to suspend USA Cricket.
“Obviously, we are disappointed, but we are awaiting further information from them regarding the conditions for reinstatement so that we can evaluate the path forward.”
USA Cricket had been placed “on notice” at the 2024 ICC Annual General Meeting and given 12 months to fix the issues laid out by the ICC.
While a 2025 AGM review contemplated suspension, the ICC said the membership opted to keep the body on notice in July after representations and commitments from USA Cricket.
In a written notice of that decision, the ICC warned USA Cricket not to jeopardise Olympic inclusion and not to act in a way that brings the sport or the ICC into disrepute.
Reuters
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