Irish cricket facing cash crisis

Ireland's World Cup success has not translated into cash © Getty Images

Irish cricket is facing a growing financial crisis despite the team's success in the World Cup, according to a report by BBC Northern Ireland.

Even though Ireland reached the Super Eights stage of the tournament, they made a loss from their participation because they received a much smaller fee than Full Member countries, including those who failed to reach the second stage. For example, Zimbabwe, whom Ireland helped knock out, received almost US$11 million, dwarfing the amount paid to the Irish Cricket Union.

For all the bullish talk of the Irish going semi-professional, it now appears the ICU is battling to stay solvent and it needed a grant of £250,000 from the Irish Sports Council to bail it out.

The BBC said the real position will not become clear until the ICU's AGM in February, but there are suggestions that the increasing number of matches played by the team and a failure to attract a major sponsor has exacerbated the situation. Poor turn-out for high-profile international matches in 2007 were a real indicator that the income streams were nowhere near those many had predicted as a result of the World Cup success.

In October the Bank of Ireland ended its long-standing sponsorship deal and, to date, no replacement has been signed up.

Warren Deutrom, the ICU's chief executive, admitted to the BBC that 2007 was "an exceptionally difficult year for Irish cricket" but said the board would break even. He did, however, agree that the plans to offer players professional contract would have to be delayed and would not happen in 2008.