USA Cricket files for bankruptcy just one year after co-hosting World Cup

USA Cricket filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday minutes before a court hearing into its dispute with private consortium American Cricket Enterprises - and just over a year since America co-hosted the Men's T20 World Cup.

The embattled governing body, which was suspended by the International Cricket Council last month over repeated breaches of its obligations, made the decision in a bid to achieve 'governance reforms' ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

According to Forbes, it represents the first time an ICC member has ever filed for bankruptcy. The move also pauses the hearing with ACE - which has invested $150million into domestic cricket and has a target for the US to obtain 10 international cricket venues by 2030.

Up until recently ACE was USA Cricket's strategic partner to operate Major League Cricket - a lucrative T20 domestic tournament in the United States.

USA Cricket argues that the original 50-year agreement 'heavily' favored ACE and was 'negotiated largely by one USA Cricket Board member who did not disclose certain conflicts of interest that both he and his employer had with ACE affiliates'.

USA Cricket chief executive Johnathan Atkeison said: 'This Chapter 11 [bankruptcy] filing is a decisive move to secure our ability to address the patently inequitable contracts of the past, correct our financial situation, achieve governance reforms and finally build the world-class NGB America deserves, with an eye toward LA 2028'.

ACE was set to invest more than $1billion into the development of cricket in the US largely through MLC, which it hoped would bring the game into the world's biggest sport market.

'USAC could not bear for the preliminary injunction hearing to even begin, and knew the result was a forgone conclusion,' ACE said in a statement.

'It had no basis to terminate the parties’ agreement and was recklessly imperiling the success of cricket in the U.S. USAC has zero regard for the best interests of cricket and its players, and is only motivated by politics and its directors’ personal agendas.'

After suspending USA Cricket's membership with immediate effect last month, the ICC Board cited failures to implement a functional governance structure, lack of progress toward recognition by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and actions that caused reputational damage to the sport in the US and globally.

Despite the suspension, the ICC said US national teams would keep their right to compete in ICC events and continue preparations for the LA Olympics.

Management and administration of the teams will be overseen temporarily by the ICC or its representatives to maintain support for players and high-performance programs.

Cricket will return to the Olympic stage in LA after more than a century, having appeared once at the 1900 Olympics, with a six-team Twenty20 format - the shortest international format of the game - for both women and men.