The USA national men’s cricket team finished second in the ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 4 to gain promotion to ICC WCL Division 3.
The night before, Jignesh “Jay” Pandya, CEO of Global Sports Ventures, LLC released a video congratulating USA on their earlier performances and announced a $25,000 incentive to the national team for promotion to Division 3.
Pandya released yet another video signing the $25,000 check to the USA Cricket Association (USACA), on behalf of the players. This is the first public move Global Sports Ventures (GSV) has made in its quest to professionalize cricket in the US. More than a month ago, GSV signed a $70 million licensing agreement with the USA Cricket Association to do just that, and establish a T20 professional league.
WCL Division 3 air is not rare for Team USA. They’ve played in this division in 2013 and 2014 but finished 5th out of six teams in the 2014 edition and was relegated to Division 4. With ICC’s continued special focus on USA Cricket development combined with Global Sports Ventures’ pursuit to professionalize the sport in the US, Team USA should continue to climb the WCL ladder.
Team USA huddle in Los Angeles, CA.
Next on the USA Cricket calendar is USACA’s 2016 T20 National Championships. From November 18-20, the nation’s top men and women cricketers will compete at the Central Broward Regional Park, Lauderhill, Florida. In the men’s competition, eight teams representing each of USACA’s regions will compete for the title. The women’s competition will see an Eastern Conference versus Western Conference battle it out in a three-match series. All players will be vying for annual retainer contracts.