ICC suspends USA from its member list

Cape Town, Mar 3 (UNI) The Intenatinal Cricket Council (ICC) Board has suspended the membership of the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA).

The suspension has been enacted on the basis of USACA's failure to meet the agreed and extended deadlines for the adoption of the new USACA constitution and the holding of elections.

Determining that USACA had not made required progress, the ICC re-enacted the suspension yesterday at a board meeting here.

Commenting on the decision, ICC's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Malcolm Speed said, ''It gives the ICC Board no pleasure to re-enact this suspension but we are left with no alternative given the lack of progress towards the functioning of USA Cricket administration.'' Meanwhile, under the terms and conditions of the suspension, the USACA will be barred from all ICC grants, which includes the ICC annual grant, the national team preparation grant for the World Cricket League Division Three Series from which it has been relegated and also the funding support from the ICC Americas region Development Program.

Incidentally, it is for the second time the USACA has witnessed such stern action against it. Earlier, the ICC Board has suspended the American Cricket body in 2005 on the basis that the ICC was unable to determine a legitimate governor of USA Cricket. But that suspension was eventually lifted in March 2006.

''It is especially disappointing that the USA players have had to be penalised for their inactive board. The ICC recognises USA's cricketing potential, but without a functioning administration that potential is likely to remain largely untapped,'' the ICC chief said.

Meanwhile, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has been asked to monitor the progress of USA cricket.

UNI