USA Cricket quietly reverses split with MLC's backer

USA Cricket has quietly pulled back its termination of a long-term commercial agreement with American Cricket Enterprises. The news was first posted on X by podcaster @kushal_mehra, and has been confirmed to Cricbuzz by sources within USA Cricket. The reversal effectively restores the agreement that underpins Major League Cricket and funding for parts of the national-team program.

However, neither USA Cricket nor ACE has announced the move, and several stakeholders including some board members of USA Cricket have received no formal notice.

The silence has sown confusion inside the American cricket ecosystem. Plans for near-term activities, including a high-performance camp in Morrisville later this month and a West Indies tour in October, remain unclear to players and staff, people involved said. Players are hopeful that the resolution will get the events back on track, as earlier planned.

The reversal comes less than two weeks after USA Cricket publicly said it had severed ties with ACE, alleging "multiple material breaches" of the 2019 term sheet. That announcement, dated August 21, triggered immediate uncertainty around the domestic structure which relies on funding from ACE to operate.

ACE, which organizes Major League Cricket and the developmental Minor League Cricket, rejected the allegations and called the termination "unlawful" in statements last month.

Neither side has, as of publication, acknowledged the withdrawal of the termination. USA Cricket declined to comment. ACE CEO Johnny Graves, when asked for comment, said, "We cannot comment on any matter related to the USAC & ACE agreement. Nonetheless we remain fully committed to the growth and development of cricket in America and to serving the best interests of all cricketers from the grassroots to the USA National Teams."

The stakes are significant. The 2019 agreement granted ACE long-term commercial rights, including the right to own and operate a top-tier T20 league in the United States and to commercialize certain national-team properties, whilst committing funding for USA Cricket and its initiatives. That framework is what enabled ACE's launch of Major League Cricket and Minor League Cricket, along with its development of Grand Prairie cricket stadium, used to host MLC matches, as well as matches during the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.

Even during last month's public rupture, USA Cricket moved to limit collateral damage by affirming that the 2025 Minor League Cricket season would go ahead as "Approved Cricket," arguing the sanction had already been granted before its termination notice.

The governance picture remains a shadow over everything. In July, the ICC delivered a formal "roadmap" for USA Cricket to regain compliance and earn recognition as the U.S. Olympic governing body for cricket ahead of the Los Angeles Games, with the first step recommending a reset of the board. The August termination, and now an unannounced reversal, fit a wider pattern of instability the ICC has pressed USA Cricket to address.

Adding to the uncertainty, Corey Anderson, former New Zealand allrounder and operational director of the US Cricketers' Association, recently voiced the frustration felt among players. He told a news website, "I guess the termination just leaves players in a limbo and in a scenario where they are now so uncertain of their futures. How long does this last for? What does future seasons of Major League or Minor League look like?"

Anderson also warned of the potential ripple effect on USA's build-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be staged in India and Sri Lanka with USA as one of the 20 participating teams. He noted that plans had been drawn up for an intensive high-performance camp for the country's top 35 players in Morrisville, including three 50-over games and three T20 trial matches against West Indies A, a critical preparation that now hangs in the balance.

For now, a deal that was declared dead in August appears to be alive again. Until USA Cricket and ACE clearly say so, coaches, players, and sponsors are left to operate on rumor and inference, rather than a schedule and a budget.