WASHINGTON: The Int­er­national Cricket Council (ICC) approved USA Cricket as its 105th member on Tuesday, restoring the sport in the United States after the expulsion of a previous national governing body.

The move making USA Cricket the ICC’s 93rd associate member allows the group to obtain ICC development funding and sanction international and domestic cricket in the US.

That is expected to open the door for T20 Interna­tionals to be played in Flor­ida, which has a large base of West Indies supporters.

“This is truly an exciting day for USA Cricket and the entire US cricket community,” USA Cricket board chair Paraag Marathe said. “On behalf of the board of directors, I’d like to thank the ICC and their 104 other members for their trust in us.”

The USA Cricket Association had previously been an associate member of the ICC but was suspended over governance issues for a third time in 2015 before being expelled in June 2017.

An ICC Americas regional support group oversaw US cricket as a transition plan was made while USA Cricket, based in Colorado near the home of the US Olympic Committee, was formed and began its growth into a sustainable governing body.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2019