USA Cricket Fires Back at ICC

(ATR) The United States of America Cricket Association says it should be reinstated, not expelled from the International Cricket Council.

On May 2, USACA executive secretary Sankar Renganathan wrote a statement expressing its displeasure and disappointment with the ICC statementcalling for a vote to remove the National Governing Body at its meeting in June.

"This decision is manifestly unfair, prejudicial, unlawful, and unreasonable," Renganathan writes.

USACA has been provisionally suspended from the ICC since June 2015 as a result of perceived mismanagement and failure to unify cricket in the United States. It is the third suspension of USACA over the past 12 years.

In order to help get USACA back on track, the ICC worked with the NGB to revamp its constitution that was adopted by USACA in April. However, the adopted constitution contained slight changes to the ICC-approved bylaws that Renganathan says were necessary to allow USACA to maintain a democratic election process.

Under USACA’s previous constitution, only cricket leagues in the U.S. were considered voting members. The new bylaws opened membership to clubs, established youth academies and individuals. The expanded membership votes democratically for 70 percent of the USACA Board positions and most importantly, the next chairperson of the NGB.

"In short, the new membership and board structure under the new constitution ensure that USACA will be a democratically and professionally governed organization and that no one group or individual or region can control USACA going forward," Renganathan says.

The democratic election of USACA’s next chairperson seems to be the crux of the discontent by the ICC with USACA’s new constitution, at least according to Renganathan. In its proposals, the ICC insisted the next chairperson of USACA must be nominated and appointed by the ICC.

"USACA’s membership voted for democracy – any member of the new board elected by the expanded membership or an independent director could be selected by the new board to be the next USACA chairperson.

"The ICC, however, opted against this democratic approach. Not surprisingly, the USACA membership rejected this anti-democratic straightjacket."

Renganathan adds that this stipulation is a clear instance of the ICC trying to exert more control over the NGB.

"USACA urges the ICC and its members to follow the ICC’s own constitution and allow the US cricket community to govern itself. USACA intends to vigorously defend its rights as an ICC member and the national governing body of cricket in USA.

"USACA should be reinstated," Renganathan concludes.

Click here to read the full statement from USACA.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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