Dreamer whose ambition proved fatal

Warren Deutrom’s vision brought Irish cricket to unimagined heights but an ill-judged T20 tournament spelt the end

CRICKET IRELAND’s long-serving chief executive, Warren Deutrom, will step down in two months, the governing body announced yesterday. Deutrom, who had led the organisation since 2006, announced his resignation to the board on Wednesday.

He said: ‘It’s hard to explain my feelings since making this decision — the role of Cricket Ireland CEO has covered more than a third of my life and two-thirds of my professional career. It has felt more like a vocation and a true labour of love than a mere job.

‘The attainment of ICC Full Membership and Test status is the most significant achievement I’ll look back on with pride —indeed, if the first decade of my role was about trying to achieve ICC Full Membership/Test status, the next decade has been about trying to live up to that privilege.

‘I’m more confident than ever that the foundations are there to realise that new vision, so it’s the right time for me to hand over the baton.’

Cricket Ireland chairman Brian MacNeice said: ‘The measure of success for any CEO is: have they left the organisation in a better place than they found it. There is no doubt Warren has achieved that.’

Deutrom left his mark by convincing Irish cricket of its own worth, and realised that ambition by driving what was the Irish Cricket Union, now Cricket Ireland, to achieve many of his goals.

His greatest gift to Irish cricket was his ability to dream, but that ultimately proved his downfall.

Deutrom, an Englishman of Sri Lankan heritage, came to Ireland in 2005 as part of the ICC events team organising the World Cup qualifying tournament. Ireland won a place at the 2007 World Cup and Deutrom impressed Irish officials who a year later offered him the job as chief executive when John Wright decided to retire.

He took over an organisation with a single part-time secretarial employee and leaves with more than 100 on the payroll.

His contacts built up from his years with the ICC and ECB paid dividends and Ireland’s fixture programme grew in depth and quality. Deutrom spent a decade banging on doors demanding more games for Ireland and trying to convince people at home and abroad that Ireland could be part of the elite in the world’s second biggest sport.

His efforts, and those of Ross McCollum, Murray Power and David Williams off the field, and the all-conquering team on it, paid off in 2017 when ICC elevated Ireland and Afghanistan to full membership. They joined ten others and welcomed Pakistan to Malahide for the inaugural test in June 2018.

Sadly, it proved to be a hollow prize, with just a single Test played in Ireland in the seven years since, and the men’s summer 2025 programme consisting of a mere three ODIs and five T20s (two already rained off).

It had all come too late for the powerful side that saw Ireland achieve Test status — seven of the side were 33 or older when they made their debuts and Ireland struggled to replace them. The last 50-over World Cup Ireland played in was a decade ago.

Full membership also blocked the way for Irish players in England, and the county apprenticeships dried up. Ireland lost their first seven Tests, often by a distance, but have managed to win their last three against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

Deutrom oversaw the professionalisation of the interpros – and their subsequent downgrade – and brought in contracts for the Ireland Women’s XI. He was also delighted when ICC granted Ireland some fixtures at the 2030 World Cup and has lobbied the government to provide a venue at Abbotstown.

He was in the headlines in April 2019 when it emerged that he made a €100,000 short-term loan to Cricket Ireland to address a cash flow crisis. He hadn’t mentioned this to the CI board and the unfortunate timing, coming just after the John Delaney scandal involving the same amount, meant eyebrows were raised.

He was also damaged by an ill-judged decision to buy two Tesla cars for him and another senior executive last year. An even more ill-judged attempt to justify the deal with talk of resale value made Cricket Ireland a laughing stock and the Tesla jibe continues to be thrown at him by disgruntled fans.

The die was probably cast when the European T20 Premier League was canned earlier this month. This attempt to pitch an IPL-style tournament in Dublin, Edinburgh and Amsterdam, with talk of Bollywood investors and a Six Nations rugby atmosphere, has been scheduled every year since 2019 without a ball being bowled.

Several more T20 tournaments have appeared worldwide since then and the chances of the ETPL succeeding shrank every year. This year Indian movie star Abhishek Bachchan came to Dublin with a fanfare in March but his pursuit of investors came to naught and a brief press release on June 5 eventually confirmed what had been known for months.

‘We’re building for the long term,’ said Deutrom, who was Chair of the ETPL. ‘With the right partners, capital and support across the board, 2026 gives us the ideal runway to launch a league that is professional, competitive and built to last.’

In his resignation statement Deutrom was at it again, claiming the league was ‘on the horizon’, but senior players and administrators I spoke to believe that his departure means the end of the ETPL.

Players are enraged by the loss of earnings and the reduced fixture list they have to work with. One senior player revealed to me that the first he heard of Deutrom’s exit was via a tweet.

There is speculation that he may be eyeing up other opportunities in Irish sport, having come close to the top jobs at the FAI and IRFU in recent years.

Deutrom’s exit is also likely to see the sidelining of the Abbotstown stadium scheme, which he had largely driven.

It is hard to imagine that any incoming chief executive, or any properly functioning board, would waste energy or money on the project which could potentially bankrupt the body.