In a step in the right direction, the USACA Secretary issued a "what's happening" memo, which he hoped would promote greater communication between the national cricket body and its constituents.

"I have opted to use this method of keeping you up-to-date on what's happening at the administrative levels in your national organization. As part of the volunteerism of USACA, it is important that members be kept up-to-date on what the organization is doing, planning on doing, and if any, what obstacles are standing in its way," John Aaron wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by DreamCricket.com from one of the recipients.

He asked the recipients to share the what's happening memo with all interested members through the normal communication channels used in their regions. Mr. Aaron said he was not entrusted with the management of the USACA website.

Operational Matters

The memo confirmed that the Second Vice President Manaf Mohamed was named the Director of Cricket Operations by the USACA Board, when it met on April 26, 2008.

A CEO Recruiting Committee was appointed by the board, with Gladstone Dainty as Chairman and September 1, 2008 was established as the deadline for the appointment of USACA's CEO. Similarly, the board also created an Operations Committee with a view to examine proposals and other financial approaches to USACA. President Gladstone Dainty will preside over this committee as well. The two committees have not yet met, the memo informed.

As was reported on this website last week, John Thickett, the Treasurer, has posted all prior year USACA tax filings to the USACA website and has provided all board members with a monthly financial report (April, May and June 2008).

However, the organization's Treasurer has not yet been able to gain control over the organization's bank account. This, the memo stated, has restricted the Treasurer's ability to carry out certain functions as required by the USACA constitution.

With respect to the minutes of the April 26 board meeting, the memo said that the minutes were prepared and approved by a majority of Directors and will be posted when the President authorizes the webmaster to do so.

A second meeting of the USACA board scheduled for July 12th, 2008 in New York, was cancelled on the evening prior to the meeting, with the President citing a lack of quorum. The memo also informed that the next meeting is planned for Saturday, August 9, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.

The ICC Conference

President Gladstone Dainty and John Aaron, USACA Secretary, attended the ICC Annual Conference in Dubai earlier this month, as the representatives of USACA. USACA's presence at the conference helped to "establish a level of confidence with those ICC officials with whom we had discussions, as well as our peers from other member countries," Mr. Aaron wrote in the memo.

"It is my opinion that our organization came away from the conference with the firm understanding that the ICC, primarily through its Americas Regional Development Office in Canada and the West Indies Cricket Board, would lend USACA whatever assistance is needed to further develop, promote and encourage the sport in the USA. The WICB's President Dr. Julian Hunte has pledged his commitment to helping USACA raise the standard of its national team through bi-lateral tournaments, coaching and organizational support for event planning and execution. The ICC's Global Development Manager Mr. Matthew Kennedy said that the resources of the Regional Development Office were at USACA's ready disposal."

Grants and Fundraising

On the subject of further grants from ICC, the memo noted that "USACA has the opportunity of acquiring larger sums of money from the ICC, starting in 2008, through that organization's revamped development funding plan. However, that plan is based on a number of criteria, including the implementation of an ICC audited adherence to a budget, membership head-counts, development programs put in place, appointment of a CEO, and other performance criteria. Much work is needed to prepare USACA for the new funding environment."

The memo also confirmed that USACA had received the 2008 ICC Associate grant of US$90,000 in addition to US$20,000 development funding. "Most of that money was spent preparing and allowing our team to participate in the WCL Division 5 tournament in Jersey."

U-15 and U-19

Referring to the selection of a team to participate in the ICC's Americas Under-15 Cup in Bermuda next month, the memo said that the "current method of selecting our national teams, including the appointment of selectors and team management, is seriously flawed and requires immediate action by the Board of Directors to establish a process and procedural protocols for the future."

The secretary informed that the Under-19 National tournament was postponed due to the unavailability of suitable grounds in Florida. Alternate venues in other USACA regions are now being considered.

Membership Issues

With respect to the leagues seeking membership of USACA, Mr. Aaron noted in the what's happening memo that "the Massachusetts Cricket League has not yet been readmitted as a member of USACA. Their omission depleted the certification of the Northeast Region as a bona-fide region, because there were less than the requisite three leagues within the region. In addition, several leagues are being investigated or denied membership in their regions. At least one league has appealed directly to the USACA board." These issues are expected to be dealt with at the next meeting of the board.