ICC Refuses to Recognize Series by Expelled USA Cricket Association

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has refused to recognize the two bilateral series that the expelled United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) was planning with India.

“Two upcoming USACA events — All India Women Twenty20 Cricket Association’s women’s T20I series and men’s series — are not recognized by BCCI or ICC. Those participating in upcoming two events may be subject to disciplinary action for participating in disapproved cricket,” the ICC said in a statement on March 12.

According to the statement, USACA, which was expelled by the ICC in June 2017, recently announced plans to host Cricket India’s All India Women Twenty20 Cricket Association for a bilateral women’s T20I series in April 2018 and Cricket India’s Indian Twenty20 Cricket Federation for a men’s series the following month. The ICC said that neither event is recognized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or International Cricket Council (ICC).

The ICC stated that since these events are unsanctioned, players, match officials, coaching or management staff affiliated to a National Cricket Federation or any team affiliated to a National Cricket Federation is prohibited from taking part in these events.

On March 5 this year, the USACA said in a statement that it is planning to host Cricket India’s All India Women Twenty20 Cricket Association for a T20 bilateral series in April in the United States.

The ICC had in May 2017 decided that the ICC Full Council should consider the expulsion of USACA from membership of the ICC. In June a resolution to that effect was placed in front of the ICC Full Council meeting.

The Board had stated that the decision followed a two-year process to seek to unify the cricket community in the United States since USACA’s suspension from membership in 2015 – the third occasion it had been suspended by the ICC over the last 12 years.

“The decision to pass this resolution was not taken lightly by the ICC Board. Our focus throughout this two-year process has been on the unification of the USA cricket community behind USACA to grow and develop the sport,” ICC chief executive David Richardson said in a statement issued last year.

Richardson added that it had become clear that the unification was not possible. He explained that having invested so much time and resources into helping USACA and with little cooperation from USACA, the ICC Board now felt that the only remaining option was for the ICC Full Council to consider expulsion of USACA as a member of the ICC.

In June, the USA Cricket Association (USACA) was expelled after a unanimous vote at the ICC’s board meeting. “We would hope that this puts a final line on the matter,” Richardson said, ESPNcricinfo reported at the time. USACA faced several problems in recent years, mainly related to governance. The board also struggled with debt.

According to Richardson, USACA’s refusal to engage in the process to meet a number of fundamental reinstatement conditions, to provide responses to further requests for information and its apparent failure to put the ICC Board-approved constitution before its members without legitimate excuse undermined the objective of uniting the sport.

The final straw was when despite ICC’s request, the USACA failed to send its members a copy of the ICC approved constitution. It instead presented an alternative version to its membership and ratified it on April 8 at a special general meeting.

“The alternative constitution included proposals that the ICC Board had specifically rejected as well as other material changes that had not been approved by the ICC Board. The ICC Board considered that all of those proposals and changes were likely to frustrate a successful unification process,” the statement said.

Soon after its expulsion in June, USA Cricket Association president Gladstone Dainty urged USACA and its members to “continue to fight.”

“USACA is disappointed by the vote of the ICC membership to expel USACA but not surprised,” Dainty had said, reported ESPNcricinfo. He added that the ICC spent years trying to find a basis to expel USACA and replace it with an organization that the ICC can control.