The ICC has welcomed a new nation into the cricket family while cracking down on others over governance problems. At its Annual Conference in Edinburgh, Mauritius was admitted as the ICC's 111th member — but the meeting also kept Canada and the USA suspended and placed France Cricket "on notice".
The four days of meetings, which ran from July 8 to 11, produced a busy set of decisions on membership, money and administration.
Mauritius become the ICC's newest member
The Mauritius Cricket Federation was formally admitted as an Associate Member, taking the ICC's total membership to 111 nations — made up of 12 Full Members and 99 Associate Members.
For Mauritius, it is the reward for three years of steady planning and hard work from its officials, players, coaches and clubs. Full membership status opens the door to a lot: entry into international competitions, ICC development programmes, coaching and umpiring courses, and support to build the game at home.
The ICC said the move fits its aim of spreading cricket into new markets and giving more countries a chance to grow.
Canada stay suspended — but with a path back
Cricket Canada, which was suspended last month over what the ICC called serious breaches of its membership rules, remains suspended.
The good news for Canadian cricket is that the ICC has now laid out clear "reinstatement conditions" — a set of governance and financial fixes the board must complete before the suspension can be lifted. In other words, the door is not shut; Canada simply has a checklist to work through. The idea of a Canadian franchise joining Major League Cricket was also discussed at the meeting.
USA still suspended, even with the LA28 Olympics coming
The USA's cricket board has been suspended since September 2025, and the ICC decided to keep it that way for now.
This is a tricky one for the ICC. Cricket returns to the Olympics at the Los Angeles 2028 Games, and having a strong, stable cricket board in the host country matters a great deal. The ICC admitted the situation is important and needs to be resolved, but chose to give it more time rather than rush a decision.
France Cricket placed 'on notice'
France Cricket was placed "on notice" after the ICC found it had broken the board's mandatory membership criteria. No further punishment was handed out for now, but it is a clear warning: sort out the problems, or face tougher action later.
Other big decisions from Edinburgh
The conference covered plenty more ground:
Money for the West Indies: The board approved a loan of USD 12.82 million to Cricket West Indies to support its day-to-day operations.
BCCI man gets a key role: BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia will chair the ICC's new Governance Review Committee.
Tamim Iqbal in charge of leagues: Bangladesh Cricket Board president and former captain Tamim Iqbal will head a new Franchise Leagues Committee, which also includes Saikia, England's Richard Gould and Cricket Australia's Todd Greenberg.
Sri Lanka still restricted: The ICC noted progress on Sri Lanka Cricket's new constitution but said it must hold elections soon, and confirmed SLC will remain barred from ICC board meetings for now.
What did NOT change
Two of the most-talked-about proposals were left on the table. There was no decision on expanding the World Test Championship from eight teams to 12, and no move on the idea of cutting ODIs from 50 overs to 40 overs per side. Both remain up for discussion another day.
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