The ICC confirmed on Monday that its showpiece tournament would be reduced in size from 14 teams to 10 from 2015 amid criticism of the lengthy duration of this year’s event, which concluded at the weekend. The ICC’s decision means that the likes of Ireland, the Netherlands, Kenya and Canada will all be excluded from the event until at least 2019, when a qualifying format is set to be introduced.
Stating that the decision would have “serious implications” for Ireland’s playing and financial strength, Deutrom told BBC Sport: "Sometimes, people are accused of indulging in conspiracy theories but in this instance two and two do make four. We will continue to fight this and we don't believe this is a dead issue yet.”
Deutrom added: "The chairman of the associates has sent a memo out to all 95 non-Test playing countries to notify them of the decision and to say the six elected representatives who sit on the two main ICC committees will be liaising to talk about the course of action we need to take."
Although all four associate countries failed to make it through the group stages of this year’s tournament, it is argued that their exclusion would severely impact the development of cricket outside the leading nations. Ireland powered to a historic win over England, along with running both Bangladesh and the West Indies close, and Deutrom expressed his disappointment with the ICC ruling.
"Legal action could be a relatively slippery slope but we will examine every possible option,” he said. “We have to determine if the ICC has acted in concert with its memorandum and articles. I have worked in the ICC for the best part of eight or nine years, first as part of the management and now sitting on one of the two senior committees and I can say that today I am ashamed to be part of that apparatus."
