The embattled USA Cricket national governing body has terminated its tie-up with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), which has, up until this point, been running the annual domestic Major League Cricket (MLC) tournament.
The contract termination comes after what USA Cricket has cited as "multiple material breaches" of the term sheet agreement that those two parties formally signed in May 2019. That agreement was meant to be a 50-year tie-up, but has instead spanned only the first three seasons of the six-team MLC.
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USA Cricket has said that ACE "has failed to fulfil its contractual and fiduciary obligations," and has alleged that the breaches were in the areas of "financial commitments, infrastructure development, organizational structure, and governance responsibilities."
Venu Pisike, chair of the USA Cricket Board, has stated: "When it comes to USA Cricket, ACE has consistently failed to meet its obligations under the agreement, which has jeopardized the broader development of cricket in the United States. After years of engagement and repeated breach notices, USA Cricket has no choice but to terminate this agreement to protect the best interests of the sport and its stakeholders."
However, ACE has now rejected the various allegations laid against it and has instead called the contract termination "unlawful," also stating that it has "fully complied" with the various contractual requirements.
In its own statement, ACE asserted: "ACE views USAC's improper conduct as nothing more than a cynical attempt to serve personal and political agendas, at the expense of the U.S. cricket community."
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By GlobalDataThis latest example of upheaval at USA Cricket comes with cricket currently set to return to the Olympic Games after a 128-year absence, at the 2028 edition in Las Vegas.
It was unveiled in April that the cricket events at those Olympics will take place at a temporary venue in Pomona, east of Los Angeles.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been making a concerted effort to boost cricket's profile in the US for the last few years, and a significant proportion of games from the 2024 ICC (International Cricket Council) Men's T20 World Cup were held in that market – across Florida, Texas, and New York.
The Knight Riders franchise – which runs the Los Angeles Knight Riders from MLC as well as the Kolkata Knight Riders from the iconic Indian Premier League – is currently set to act as the main source of funding for development of the Pomona site in the build-up to the Olympics.
The Forbes news site has now reported that MLC games are set to be played there before LA28, potentially even as early as the 2026 season.
However, Forbes has also reported that the deal between the Knight Riders group and a local not-for-profit organization representing the County of Los Angeles has yet to be formally signed.
On that basis, uncertainty as to the situation around MLC next season could potentially throw a spanner in the works of the deal. From that league, three of the six teams are currently fully owned by IPL team owners, with the 2025 season having run between June 12 and July 13.
USA Cricket, meanwhile, also lacks formal recognition from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and spent a period on notice as an ICC member across 2024 and this year.
It was recently given three months by the ICC to address various governance issues, a period in which board elections are due to be contested.
Over recent years, the governance of cricket in the US, through USA Cricket and its previous iterations, has often been criticised by the ICC.
Indeed, ACE has now called for "the USA Cricket board to resign immediately and allow professional independent board members selected by the ICC and USOPC to steer USA Cricket forward.
It added that "ACE is prepared to take all necessary steps to protect its stakeholders, safeguard the progress it has made over the last seven years, and ensure the long-term success of cricket in the US."
