In USA Cricket’s biggest milestone to date, the International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced USA Cricket was approved as an Associate Member to become the ICC’s 105th Member.
Started in 2017 upon the expulsion of the United States’ previous ICC recognised National Federation, USA Cricket has continued to work towards a unified U.S. cricket community and the ICC’s recognition will only help to further the unification efforts.
The journey towards ICC membership was assisted by passionate volunteers who have played various roles at every step of the way over the last 18 months including as members of the Board of Directors and working groups and committees like the Sustainable Foundation Advisory Group, the Nominating and Governance Committee and the other advisory groups in the areas of participation, performance and fan and market development. In addition, there were hundreds of individuals who came to town hall meetings and roadshows to help shape the future for USA Cricket.
Other organisational highlights on the path to USA Cricket’s successful membership in the ICC include:
September, 2017 – USA Cricket’s logo & social identities released
Fall/Winter, 2017 – Membership roadshows
November, 2017 – Website at www.USACricket.org launched
December, 2017 – USA Cricket’s Constitution approved
February, 2018 – Membership opens
March, 2018 – Historic Team USA Women’s tour to Australia and Rookie League program launched
Spring/Summer, 2018 – Men’s, Women’s and U19 Combines
Summer, 2018 – Eligible voter “Peer Review”
July, 2018 – USA Cricket Board elections start
August, 2018 – Full Board seated including three Independent Directors
September, 2018 – Team USA Men win the T20 Sub Regional Qualifier
October, 2018 – USA Cricket Board Chair elected
November, 2018 – Team USA Men qualify for Division 2 & T20 Professional League RFP released
January, 2019 – ICC Recognition
“This is truly an exciting day for USA Cricket and the entire U.S. cricket community,” said USA Cricket Board Chair Paraag Marathe. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I’d like to thank the ICC and their 104 other members for their trust in us and we’d also like to recognise the work of all the volunteers and staff who have dedicated so much time and effort to reach this historic day. We realise the incredible responsibility that comes with this recognition and we are committed to working hard to be great stewards of the game both for the United States and global cricket.”
With RFP responses for the T20 professional league due next week on January 18th, USA Cricket is excited to leverage this momentum to find ways to further raise cricket’s stature in the United States. (www.usacricket.org)
