ICC Grants USA Cricket Three-Month Extension Amid Concerns

USA Cricket (USAC) has been given a three-month reprieve by the International Cricket Council (ICC) while the organisation works to address pressing governance issues. This extension was announced during the ICC Board meeting held in Singapore on Saturday, 19 July.

The decision to grant this extension follows concerns from the ICC regarding USAC's adherence to governance standards, an issue that has recently strained its relationship with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

The ICC has been monitoring USAC’s situation since July 2024, when the organisation was put on notice at the annual ICC conference. Despite this, the Normalisation Committee, which visited the United States last month for evaluations, reportedly found minimal progress in resolving these issues.

In most circumstances, the ICC may have chosen to suspend a member body that fails to meet its governance requirements. However, the unique context of the USA hosting the upcoming Olympic Games appears to have influenced the council's decision to extend the deadline. The ICC's Board, led by President Jay Shah, believes that providing USAC with additional time could ultimately benefit both the organisation and the broader cricket community.

Complications arise as the US men's and women's teams are poised for automatic qualification for the Olympic Games. This has led to critical questions about who will be responsible for selecting these teams. While it is hoped that USAC will comply with governance requirements in the coming months, uncertainty remains about whether the USOPC will grant the body the autonomy to make these selections.

In a related development, the ICC has decided to implement a hybrid selection model for the qualification process leading to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This means that some teams will qualify based on their positions in the ICC T20 rankings, while others will need to enter qualifying competitions.

India, currently ranked as the number one T20 team in the world, is expected to secure automatic qualification irrespective of any ranking cut-off.

Additionally, the ICC Board has established a working group tasked with examining the structure of all three formats of the game, with further announcements on this expected to follow on the last day of the conference in Singapore.