USACA announces $100,000 tournament

The USA Cricket Association has announced that it will be hosting a tournament with a cash prize of $100,000 this November in Florida to be contested between leading clubs of USACA member leagues. A press release from the board stated that the USACA League Champions Trophy will be held between November 12 and 15 following a regional inter-league playoff qualification series earlier in the fall.

The tournament appears to be modeled on the inter-league concept developed by the rival American Cricket Federation, whose ACF Champions League was established in 2014 and is now in its second year. However, the ACF tournament is self-funded by the participating players with no prize money established. USACA, though, is touting a series of perks which the release says will allow its tournament to "drive the improvement and appeal of domestic cricket."

In addition to the prize money, the press release stated that all travel expenses, including flight tickets and hotel accommodations in Florida, will be paid for. However, USACA has provided no information regarding how the tournament will be funded or what kind of format will be used. Owen Grey, the board's vice president, told ESPNcricinfo that he had only learned of the tournament when he saw the press release on USACA's website on Monday morning and said it is being privately organised by current USACA secretary Sankar Rengannathan and ex-USACA secretary Kenwyn Williams.

The announcement comes on the eve of a scheduled meeting in New York between the ICC and USACA officials on Tuesday to discuss progress made by USACA since their Associate membership was suspended by the ICC in June's annual conference. One of the biggest issues raised by the ICC at the conference was USACA's dire financial situation. USACA's most recent tax returns from 2013 show the organization is more than $4 million in debt and the board even had to cancel a pair of preparation camps in Jamaica that had been announced prior to USA's participation in last month's World Twenty20 Qualifier.

Separately, several USA players have still not been reimbursed by USACA for $500 expedited visa application fees for the tour to Malaysia last October for the ICC WCL Division Three. Other USACA officials are awaiting reimbursement for flight tickets to attend the USACA Under-19 trials in Los Angeles this May, and the entire USA squad is still yet to receive any stipend payments that were promised for their tour of Ireland last month for the T20 qualifier.