USA Cricket Plunges into Bankruptcy as ACE Showdown Looms

USA Cricket (USAC) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday, shortly before its scheduled preliminary-injunction hearing in its dispute with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE). Cricbuzz broke the news on Wednesday that the board, led by chairman Venu Pisike, was considering the move. The Chapter 11 filing by USA Cricket is the first known instance globally of an ICC member body declaring bankruptcy.

In the Colorado case brought by ACE against USAC, USAC's counsel simultaneously notified the court of the bankruptcy just minutes before the hearing was set to begin, a step that pauses the hearings.

ACE condemned the act and the timing. "USAC could not bear for the preliminary injunction hearing to even begin, and knew the result was a forgone conclusion: it had no basis to terminate the parties' agreement and was recklessly imperiling the success of cricket in the U.S. USAC has zero regard for the best interests of cricket and its players, and is only motivated by politics and its directors' personal agendas", stated an ACE representative.

The bankruptcy schedules provide a first look at USAC's finances: bank cash, accounts receivable, office equipment, and other small assets are listed, while the unsecured claims total just over half a million dollars. The executory-contracts schedule specifically lists current player contracts - including several senior internationals - with stated end dates of December 31, 2025, indicating those deals are now subject to Chapter 11 treatment along with USAC's other obligations.

It is also understood that ACE offered to continue making payments under its agreement, if USAC accepted a voluntary preliminary injunction. This would allow the ACE-USAC agreement to proceed towards its arbitration, while keeping payments flowing from ACE to USAC and ACE maintaining its rights in the interim. USAC did not accept the proposal. The USAC Board also refused to resign, as requested repeatedly by the ICC and USOPC, to enable smooth passage for governance reforms and reinstatement of cash flows from the ICC.

Wednesday's filing follows the governance turmoil reported by Cricbuzz on Tuesday that Board Director Anj Balasu was recalled and the board was considering bankruptcy as a means to create leverage over the ICC. It remains unclear whether Anj Balasu voted in the USAC board decision to declare bankruptcy.

What comes next remains uncertain. For players, this is a concerning outcome, as payments under those contracts could be delayed or renegotiated, and will now be in the hands of the court. The injunction fight with ACE will pause pending USAC's bankruptcy proceedings, which shift key decisions from the Colorado court to the federal bankruptcy court.

Cricbuzz will update this story as court filings and stakeholder responses develop.