St George’s Park receives R27m in new floodlights
THE home of cricket in South Africa has been pimped to the tune of almost R67-million and is ready to roll into a future more than four times as dazzling as its illustrious past.
“The old lady is really looking good‚” Mark Williams‚ the chief executive of the Warriors and the Eastern Province Cricket Board‚ said from his office at St George’s Park.
New floodlights have been installed at a cost of R27-million and R39.7-million has been spent on other improvements‚ including a new scoreboard and drainage system.
The upgrades should add to the occasion that will unfold at St George’s Park on December 26 – when South Africa host Zimbabwe in not only the first day/night‚ pink-ball Test in this country but the first fourday Test anywhere.
Whatever you think of all that newfangledness‚ it does have a certain symmetry with the fact that the first Test played in South Africa was against England at St George’s Park in March 1889.
There could be another echo of the past next month: it took England only two days to win that first match‚ and seven years later the English again needed just a couple of days to get the job done in St George’s Park’s second Test.
What price Zimbabwe‚ who are among the weakest teams in the game‚ lasting longer than two days?
Besides all that‚ the ground needed new lights desperately. Their old set peaked at a mere 800 lux‚ which meant muggers could have lurked unseen in the further reaches of the outfield during day-night games.
Williams himself tested the spanking new set this week‚ and found them to be more than four-and-a-half times as effective as the old bulbs.
“In the centre of the pitch we averaged 3 700 lux‚” he said. “I reckon it will be consistent around 3 000 lux.
“We adjusted the lights down to 45% of capacity and in the centre of the pitch we were clocking 2 000