May 08, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 2, 1429

LONDON, May 7: The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has submitted a planning application to Westminster City Council for six floodlights at Lord’s to be installed at the start of each season from 2009 for five years.

Having floodlights is one of the provisions for hosting ICC World Twenty20 matches next year and could also be used for One-day Internationals and county matches.

If the plan is approved there will be six light pylons, the tallest standing at just under 48 metres behind the Warner, Compton, Edrich, and Tavern Stands. They will remain in place throughout the season and removed each winter.

The application follows an in-depth study by the MCC which looked at the growing demand for day/night games The MCC realises that Lord’s needs floodlights to remain an attractive venue for day/night matches.

Lord’s is one of three grounds that will host the World Twenty20, conditional on the provision of floodlights that meet ECB standards and the requirements of broadcasters.

The MCC has already experimented with temporary mobile floodlighting for a day/night match in 2007 but found that it failed to meet ECB standards and there were problems with light spill and glare. A further day/night trial with temporary mobile floodlights is scheduled for August 2008 to address some of these issues. The temporary floodlights now proposed for 2009 are specifically designed for Lord’s and will implement higher quality and more accurate lighting to minimise light spill for local residents and eliminate glare for players, umpires, broadcasters and spectators.

It will also enable the MCC to continue to monitor the impact of floodlighting on both the game and across the wider neighbourhood over a longer period of time.

“Floodlights are now a key component for staging one day and Twenty20 matches,” said Keith Bradshaw, the MCC secretary and chief executive.

“This application provides a solution to floodlighting for the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009 as well as matches over the next five years. As the home of cricket globally, it is crucial that Lord’s continues to host these games.

“The temporary option has been developed following a thorough analysis of floodlighting solutions. It’s important that we take into account the effect on the local area as well as how it fits in with the masterplan.”—Agencies