ICC puts USA Cricket on notice for ‘non-compliance’

COLOMBO: The International Cricket Council put USA Cricket on notice Monday to comply with the world body’s membership rules, just weeks after the country co-hosted the T20 World Cup.

The US board and Cricket Chile “have been formally put on notice and have 12 months to rectify their current non-compliance with the ICC Membership Criteria”, the ICC said in a statement following its annual conference in Colombo.

“Neither Member is considered to have in place a fit for purpose detailed governance and administrative structure and systems.” It did not give further details but said the board “will reserve its right to suspend or expel the Member for continued non-compliance.”

The move comes with cricket set to return to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles in the T20 format -- the theme of the four-day ICC conference was “capitalising on the Olympic opportunity”. The administrative structure of American cricket has long faced problems and the former governing body, USA Cricket Association, was expelled in 2017.

The US played host in June to top teams in the T20 World Cup co-hosted by the West Indies with matches held in New York, Dallas and Florida. But there were issues with playing elite cricket at the venues. The wicket in New York, developed in Florida and “dropped in” shortly before the tournament, was criticised for its uneven bounce and unpredictability which led to low-scoring games.

The ICC said there would “a review into the delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024”, following calls by some directors for an investigation into expenses incurred during the tournament.

The review committee will be overseen by three directors Lawson Naidoo (South Africa), Imran Khawaja (Singapore) and Roger Twose (New Zealand). The ICC highlighted their long-time commitment to balance men’s and women’s games and confirmed the expansion of the women’s T20 World Cup in 2030 from 12 to 16 teams.