Concern grows over marketing deal

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The ongoing mystery over the marketing deal agreed by the USA Cricket Association and Centrex continues, with the USACA refusing to provide stakeholders or the media with any information.

It now seems that not even all the association's board of directors are aware of what has been signed. "At a conference call on November 16 we were promised a copy of the deal," one member told Cricinfo. "We were clearly told that it would not be in electronic form as "some" board members were prone to "leaking" such information and the executive was going to make it harder to "leak" such information."

He continued: "A marketing deal that is supposed to be beneficial to the organisation is not touted to the membership and press as the best things since sliced bread; instead we are concerned about the information "leaking" to the media and the membership. I know, I find that rather hard to swallow too."

The USACA has a long history of refusing to keep stakeholders informed, and for several years it has effectively shut out the media. Senior officials have repeatedly refused to answer questions put to them by Cricinfo.

There is growing concern over exactly what the new deal, which according to some could earn US cricket millions of dollars, actually involves. Given that there is a continuing row over the USACA's constitution, there have also been questions as to whether it is within the current leadership's powers to agree to enter into such a major contract.