Out of the frying pan ...

Reports leaking from the weekend’s USACA board meeting in Florida suggest a return to the grim past when US cricket was synonymous with infighting, factionalism and as much transparency as a brick wall.

Rumours the façade of respectability Don Lockerbie had managed to erect was crumbling had been circulating for a while, but few expected him to be dispensed with so soon. In true USACA fashion, instead of senior executives fronting up to explain what was happening, they headed for the hills and resorted to the tactic of old – silence.

We will comment more when the reasons for Lockerbie’s hasty removal become clearer. Ostensibly, he has paid for not delivery on some eye-popping promises made in his first few months in office, and because the finances are causing concerns. But given the shambolic nature of US cricket in the years before he was appointed CEO, that would be a little harsh.

What should worry anyone connected with the game in the USA is that Gladstone Dainty, a man associated with the dysfunctionality which led the US twice being suspended by the ICC, is back in charge. It will also have been noted with alarm in Dubai where Lockerbie has strong support.