Warwickshire chief executive Colin Povey fears Birmingham has "shot itself in the foot" with the decision which has set back the proposal for new stadium development at Edgbaston.
City council planners chose to defer Warwickshire's application, pending further investigation into the impact on highways and the intensity of the development.
It is a turn of events which has left Povey - and the England and Wales Cricket Board - frustrated.
"We are very disappointed that the planning committee didn't determine the application this morning," said Povey. "While we understand the concerns of some local residents, we would have hoped the wider benefits of the scheme to the city would have been clear.
"If Birmingham is serious about being an international city this sort of scheme is exactly what is required - £12million of annual benefit to the local economy and thousands of jobs that would have been created by the scheme are at risk if this doesn't go ahead."
Povey was confident Warwickshire's application was a sound footing from which the club and the council could progress.
"We are particularly disappointed that the council chose to ignore the officers' recommendations," he added. "This is an outline application, with a significant number of conditions attached - which we feel would have allowed us to resolve any remaining concerns.
"The longer the council prevaricate on this, Edgbaston and Birmingham fall further behind the competition for the staging of international cricket in the future.
"There is no doubt that several other cities, including Manchester, will see this as Birmingham shooting itself in the foot.
"All grounds need to meet the criteria for staging major international matches by 2011, and there is no doubt time is running out for us - while others are already moving ahead with their plans.
"I am sure none of the councillors who voted for deferral want to see Edgbaston and the city lose its status as an internationally renowned venue, and we will be urging them to reconsider the application as soon as possible - while addressing the issues they have highlighted."
Gordon Hollins, the ECB's head of venue partnerships is similarly exasperated.
"The deferral is very disappointing at a time when several other venues throughout the country are making rapid progress with their redevelopment programmes," he said. "At present Edgbaston falls some way short of ECB's facilities criteria in a number of areas - which is clearly not a sustainable position if Edgbaston is to retain the right to host major matches."
