ECB’S ‘giant tent’ could end rain-delay misery
Talks held over ‘netting’ that lets games carry on Hot-air balloon would hold up fine mesh cover
The phrase “rain stops play” could become a thing of the past if research into placinga mesh canopy over cricket grounds succeeds, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
The testing, at a very early stage, has already attracted the interest of the England and Wales Cricket Board, which has spoken to the MCC to help partner any research.
A company in the United States approached the ECB with a proposal to help solve the problem of rain halting sporting events.
A very fine, transparent mesh would be held up by wires suspended from floodlights, with a hot-air balloon in the centre to lift it up, creating a tent-like effect. “We would look at any new technology and ways to get games on and more people playing cricket,” said an ECB spokesman.
There are serious issues to solve, such as what to do with the run-off water, and safety in high wind, and the technology is believed to be at least two years away from becoming a reality. Rain washing out play could seriously undermine the new Twenty20 tournament in 2020.
“There is some interesting technology around trying to create protection from rain and keep the game on in wet weather,” Guy Lavender, the new MCC chief executive, told Telegraph Sport. “It is an enormous issue for cricket. When you think about the impact of the weather on cricket in the UK, we have a part to play, as a leading club in the game, in thinking about how those new technologies develop and are tested.
“This is part of the conversation we are having with Tom Harrison [ECB chief executive]. How can we help? In what way would you like us to get involved? The good thing about the MCC is we have the ability to make choices about where we seek to invest and influence.”
The MCC was at the forefront of developing the pink ball and funding research into cricket technologies is part of Lavender’s strategy.
Lavender, who officially took up his new role this week, has also revealed that he is looking into developing drop-in pitches that could be used at Lord’s to help ease the pressure on the playing surface, which can become tired and worn due to the volume of cricket each summer.
Drop-in pitches have been developed at the Nursery Ground for several years but never seriously looked at as an option for use on the main playing arena. But research will be commissioned to investigate how they can be transferred to the main ground to make Lord’s the first venue in this country to use drop-in pitches for first-class cricket.
“I do see a time when they will be used at Lord’s,” said Lavender. “The more you look into the technology, the more significantly the challenges increase, but we have three drop-in pitches on the Nursery Ground and we are starting to think about lifting them out. When you think about what the schedules might look like with the new T20 tournament and all the things we want to do, the pressure on grounds is significant and if we can solve the technical issues it would make sense in investing in this area.
“Pitches are fundamental. It is not to knock Mick Hunt [MCC groundsman]. It is the schedule. It is unrelenting so a real focus is needed on technology and drop-in wickets being a core part of what we do.” Lavender, who has replaced Derek Brewer, who retired at the end of the season, served in the Parachute Regiment and UK Special Forces, seeing action in both Gulf Wars, Iraq, Bosnia and six tours of Northern Ireland before leaving to run a renewable technology company in Cornwall. From there, he joined Somerset and followed Brewer’s route through county cricket to the top job at Lord’s.
Lavender also worked with the United Nations, handy training as he looks to reunite a club torn apart in recent years by bitter infighting. Only last week the MCC members voted in overwhelming numbers at a special general meeting to finally give approval for the club’s own master plan for redeveloping Lord’s rather than the windfall from allowing residential blocks to be built at the Nursery End.
The issue dogged Brewer during his time at the MCC but his successor is hoping to refocus the club on cricket, and working with the ECB on technological advances is very much a part of that process.
“With the ground-development debate solved, we can refocus and decide what we are going to concentrate on,” he said. “For me, there are a couple of things. The first one is to refocus on cricket. In a way, we have been drawn into the debate around ground development and I think cricket must remain at the core, so I am keen to see a real concerted effort on pitches.
“Secondly, I am quite keen to look at talent development and participation of gender both locally and internationally. It sits in well with the ECB’S objectives and MCC has a key part to play.
“It has been a bruising and emotive debate which reflects the care and passion members have for the club but that debate has been concluded with a resounding support for the club’s master plan and the challenge is to get on and deliver it.”
At the heart of Lavender’s vision for MCC is to be a home for a team in the new Twenty20 competition to be launched in the summer of 2020.
Cheaper tickets for that tournament will be part of the MCC’S strategy as it works with Westminster City Council on its tender to the ECB to host one of the eight teams. Moving the club closer to the community will be a central part of that bid. Lavender envisages the Nursery Ground being used on match days as a community hub.
“The T20 tournament is an enormous opportunity for MCC to engage, develop and grow a different audience to the one we traditionally have for Test matches. We have to look at ticket pricing. It has to be accessible and the T20 tournament is a great opportunity to do that.
“There are issues if you think about the domestic tournament but I do not see the new T20 tournament as a moneymaking opportunity. I see it as an opportunity to get people engaged and interested in cricket and coming to Lord’s for the first time.”
But can the MCC, which has to be aware of the sensitivities of its rich and powerful local residents, deliver the spectator experience the ECB wants, such as music, fireworks and the kind of atmosphere generated at Big Bash and IPL games? “I think we can do it in a way that creates what the ECB will want to see with the new tournament, which is consistency of delivery,” said Lavender. “All the signs and initial discussions have been very positive in that we can do something new with the support of Westminster City Council, particularly if we can focus on a new local audience. If you can turn the Nursery Ground into a real centre for family and community on match days, deliver an experience that is family friendly, then we have a great opportunity to create something different here.”