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Mid-July 2026, Oakland Coliseum: the Los Angeles Knight Riders beat the Washington Freedom by a single run to win the Major League Cricket final in a stadium built for baseball and football. A few months earlier, college students from across the country met in Fort Lauderdale for their national championship. And on weekends from Seattle to Atlanta, thousands of club cricketers pull on whites or colored kit for league games. If you’re trying to understand who runs what in cricket, from the ICC to USA Cricket, MLC, the IPL, college cricket, youth clubs and the road to the LA28 Olympics, this is your map.
ICC: the International Cricket Council
The ICC is cricket’s world governing body. It runs the world championships, sets playing conditions for international games and decides which countries play which formats. Its members come in two groups: Full Members, the 12 countries with Test status (among them England, Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the West Indies), and Associate Members, a much larger group that includes the USA. All members can play T20 internationals; only the stronger associates play ODIs.
The ICC’s biggest events are the men’s and women’s T20 World Cups and Cricket World Cups (ODI), plus the World Test Championship. The rules themselves come from the Laws of Cricket, written by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC); the newest 2026 Code took effect on October 1, 2026, and the ICC adds its own playing conditions, such as powerplays and concussion replacements, which it allowed in all international cricket from 2019.
USA Cricket and the national teams
USA Cricket, based in Dallas, was set up in 2017 and became the ICC’s US member in January 2019. It runs the men’s, women’s and youth national teams and a national youth pathway. The men’s team co-hosted the 2024 T20 World Cup with the West Indies, beat Pakistan in a Super Over at Grand Prairie Stadium and reached the second round.
There’s a big caveat. On September 23, 2025, the ICC suspended USA Cricket’s membership, citing the lack of a functional governance structure, too little progress toward becoming the sport’s national governing body with the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and actions that damaged cricket’s reputation. The ICC took over running the national teams for now, and US teams keep their right to play ICC events and to prepare for LA28. Check usacricket.org for the latest before you register with a club or a program.
Major League Cricket and Minor League Cricket
Major League Cricket (MLC) is the US pro T20 league. It launched in 2023, is run by American Cricket Enterprises and sanctioned by USA Cricket, and the ICC gave it official List A status in 2024. As of the 2026 season it has six teams:
| Team | MLC titles |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Knight Riders | 2026 |
| MI New York | 2023, 2025 |
| San Francisco Unicorns | – |
| Seattle Orcas | – |
| Texas Super Kings | – |
| Washington Freedom | 2024 |
The 2026 season ran June 18 to July 18, with games at venues including Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas, Oakland Coliseum, Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, and Central Broward Park in Lauderhill, Florida. Below it, Minor League Cricket, launched in 2021, is MLC’s development league, a step up for US-based club players.
The IPL and the world’s T20 leagues
India’s Indian Premier League (IPL), first played in 2008 and held each spring, is widely seen as the most commercially successful cricket league, with 10 teams; Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the 2026 title, beating Gujarat Titans in the final. Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have won it five times each. Other major T20 leagues include Australia’s Big Bash League, the Caribbean Premier League, South Africa’s SA20, the Pakistan Super League, the UAE’s International League T20 and England’s The Hundred, a 100-ball format.
College cricket
Cricket isn’t an NCAA sport, so college cricket is run by students as a club sport. American College Cricket, founded in 2008, grew to more than 90 member colleges and held its national championships in Florida over spring break, starting with five teams in March 2009. Today the Collegiate Cricket League, a nonprofit, says it brings together 50 US universities and more than 750 student-athletes from 12 nations. Its 2025-26 season had regional championships in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Atlanta, then the national championship, the Collegiate Cup, at Broward County’s cricket stadium in Fort Lauderdale, March 12–15, 2026. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill beat Georgia by 19 runs in the final. To play, look for your university’s cricket club at the club-sports office.
High school and youth clubs
Few US high schools field cricket teams. New York City’s Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) is the exception: it launched varsity cricket in 2008 and has grown from 14 to about 30 teams. Most young cricketers play for clubs and academies. USA Cricket’s youth pathway runs hub competitions at U11, U13 and U15, zonal championships in the summer at U13, U15 and U17, and national tournaments at U15 (since 2022) and U19; the 2025 men’s U19 national championship was played in Cypress, Texas. USA Youth Cricket, a volunteer-run directory, lists academies in about 20 states. Our youth cricket page explains ages, formats and safety rules.
The road to LA28: cricket at the Olympics
Cricket returns to the Olympics at Los Angeles 2028 for the first time since 1900, when Great Britain beat France in a one-off match in Paris. Six men’s and six women’s teams of 15 players will play T20 at the Fairgrounds in Pomona, about 30 miles from downtown LA, from July 12 to 29, 2028; the women’s medal games are July 20 and the men’s July 29.
- Women: Australia, Great Britain (through England), India and South Africa qualified at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup as the best teams from their regions.
- Men: places go mainly through the ICC men’s T20I rankings on December 31, 2026, to the top teams from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania inside the top 15.
- The USA: the ICC’s pathway lets US teams qualify through the T20I rankings at the end of 2026.
- The last place: in each event, the sixth team comes from a new eight-team ICC Olympics Qualifier in 2027.
Adult club cricket
Most cricket in America is adults playing in regional leagues on weekends, hard ball or tape ball, from spring to fall. Clubs join USA Cricket as organizational members (a club needs at least 12 players registered as individual members). Many leagues run their fixtures and scores on CricClubs. Ask at your local cricket ground, or check the USA Youth Cricket directory if you have kids, to find a team near you.
Gear for your first season
Joining a club? Most lend team gear at first, but you’ll want your own gloves and a bag to carry everything. The SS Club Lite batting gloves (about $38) have high-density foam in the fingers and side-bar protection; the Gunn & Moore 707 duffle (about $80) fits two bats and a full adult kit with a separate shoe tunnel; and a Nalgene Sustain 32 oz bottle keeps you drinking through a long day in the field. For everything else, see our cricket gear guide.
SS Club Lite Cricket Batting Gloves
- High-density foam fingers
- Side-bar protection
- About $38
Gunn & Moore 707 Duffle Kit Bag
- Fits 2 bats and full kit
- Shoe tunnel
- About $80
Nalgene Sustain 32 oz Wide Mouth
- 32 oz, wide mouth
- BPA-free Tritan
- Made with 50% plastic-waste material
Prices change often. The prices above are what we saw at a major retailer in October 2026; check the current price before you buy.
Back to the cricket hub, or see cricket rules, youth cricket, cricket injuries and cricket gear. Following other leagues too? See soccer leagues and associations.
Cricket leagues and associations: questions
Is there a professional cricket league in the US?
Yes. Major League Cricket is the US pro T20 league, with six teams as of the 2026 season and games in early summer. Minor League Cricket is its development league.
Who governs cricket in the United States?
USA Cricket is the ICC’s US member, but the ICC suspended its membership in September 2025 over governance problems and is running the national teams for now. US teams can still play ICC events and the LA28 qualification path.
Can you play cricket in college in the US?
Yes, as a club sport. The Collegiate Cricket League says about 50 universities take part, with regional championships and a national final, the Collegiate Cup, each spring. It isn’t an NCAA sport, so don’t expect athletic scholarships for cricket.
Is the USA in the 2028 Olympic cricket tournament?
Not automatically, according to the ICC’s published pathway: US teams can qualify through the ICC T20I rankings at the end of 2026, and the last place in each event goes through an eight-team qualifier in 2027.
What’s the difference between the ICC and MCC?
MCC, a London club, writes the Laws of Cricket. The ICC is the world governing body: it runs international cricket and the World Cups, and adds playing conditions to the Laws for its games.