ACE takes USA Cricket to court as power struggle intensifies

There has been a power struggle at the heart of cricket in the USA for over a month now and it escalated on Tuesday, with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), the parent company of Major League Cricket (MLC), taking USA Cricket (USAC) to court for "improper termination" of their contract.

The two parties had been commercial partners since May 2019 but a few weeks ago USAC ended it saying ACE had failed to "fulfill its contractual and fiduciary obligations", including payments due to the national team and support staff. ACE disputed this, claiming it had actually offered more than the agreed amount.

An ACE press release said on Wednesday: "USAC's handling of the ACE agreement has been chaotic and reckless. It is emblematic of USAC's bad faith. A small group of USAC directors have chosen to prioritize politics rather than preparing teams that can build on their recent successes.

"These actions have jeopardized ACE's significant investments into U.S. cricket over the last six years, as well as the continued success of cricket in the U.S.

"USAC's wrongful conduct cannot go unanswered, so today, ACE filed legal proceedings against USAC regarding its improper termination of the ACE agreement."

This situation has caused unease among the USA players. ACE runs the highest profile cricket tournament in the country - MLC - and the development league associated with it - Minor League Cricket. It also owns the ground that houses the High Performance Centre at Grand Prairie in Dallas, Texas and operates other facilities in Morrisville, Florida and California.

At the time of USAC terminating its deal with ACE, on August 21, it said it was open to renegotiations. Seven days later, it even suspended the decision to cut ties. On September 16, however, "USAC then unilaterally reinstated its original termination, effective today, without holding any meaningful discussions directly with ACE".

Johnny Grave ACE chief executive, said, "We're disappointed with the actions of USA Cricket. For the last six years, ACE has been focused on the athletes, fans, and partners who have helped develop US cricket. We have commenced legal proceedings against USAC to prevent the irreparable harm caused by its wrongful termination of the ACE agreement and to protect the thriving cricket community that ACE has cultivated in America."

This standoff is taking place two months after the successful staging of the 2025 MLC season and less than six months out from the men's T20 World Cup. USA are due to participate in that tournament in India and Sri Lanka and ACE had planned a training camp for 35 top men's players with trial matches - three 50-over games and three T20s - in Morrisville against West Indies A.

"Is that all still taking place or not? These camps have to take place for the players to get ready for those things," USA allrounder Corey Anderson said recently. "All of those things are very much in a big question mark at the moment, which again just creates more uncertainty around the players."