Cricket Ireland chief Deutrom frustrated by national stadium delay

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Cricket Ireland have alternated between Malahide (above) and Stormont as the venues for their home internationalsImage source, Inpho
Image caption,

Ireland have alternated between Malahide (above) and Stormont as the venues for their home internationals

Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom says building a national stadium is the "one big thing still on the to-do list".

Ireland announced plans for a new stadium in 2018 but it is being held up until the completion of a governmental National Sports Campus Master Plan.

Deutrom explained that at present "hundreds of thousands of euros are spent each year simply trying to create venues to host our fixtures".

"It's a frustration for me to get a major stadium/ground built in Dublin."

A spokesperson for Cricket Ireland told BBC Sport NI on Tuesday that it "continues to have discussions and are hopeful of progress soon".

Ireland gained Test status in 2017 but the transition has come at a cost - Deutrom said in December that "financial constraints and prioritisation of fixtures" required a change to the 2020 schedule.

Game changers

They include the cancellation of a home T20 series against Afghanistan and changing a planned home Test with Bangladesh to a T20 match.

Deutrom cited a "number of key financial blows" with Cricket Ireland facing the "ongoing challenge of high temporary infrastructure costs given the lack of a permenant stadium in Ireland".

And speaking this week Deutrom said that the development of a new stadium is the "real challenge" for Cricket Ireland.

Image source, Inpho
Image caption,

Ireland will begin a three-match T20 series against Afghanistan in India on Friday

He added: "If we can spend that money instead on developing talented cricketers - girls and boys - investing that money in grassroots programmes, that's where we would like to spend our money rather than enriching infrastructure providers for our matches.

"That's the really key thing for me next.

"I think now that we have crossed a major Rubicon and become a Test nation, we're basically now the Juniors in Big School.

"So for us, it's aiming to be properly competitive across all three formats on a consistent basis."

Ireland men's team will play their 1,000th match in all formats when they take on Afghanistan in a T20 series opener in India on Friday.

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