Cricket-ICC suspends USA Cricket membership but keeps teams eligible for events, Olympics

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(Reuters) -The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended USA Cricket’s membership with immediate effect over repeated breaches of its obligations under the ICC Constitution, the sport’s global governing body said 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 U.S. and globally.

Despite the suspension, the ICC said U.S. national teams would keep their right to compete in ICC events and continue preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

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 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

USA Cricket had been placed “on notice” at the 2024 ICC Annual General Meeting and given 12 months to remedy non-compliance. 

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.

Cricket will return to the Olympic stage in LA after more than a century, having appeared once at the 1900 Olympics, with a six-team Twenty20 format – the shortest international format of the game – for both women and men.

(Reporting by Rory CarrollEditing by Toby Davis)