Floodlights to bring English one-day game out of the dark ages (18 October 1998)

18 October 1998

Floodlights to bring English one-day game out of the dark ages

By Paul Newman

FLOODLIT international cricket will come to England for the first time in 2000 when three of each summer's 10 one-day matches are staged under lights as part of last week's radical restructuring of the game.

Sky TV have stipulated that three of the 10 internationals per season, all of which will be staged in June and July after a two-match Test series to launch the international summer, must be floodlit as an integral part of their £51 million share of the £103 million television deal. The one Test the satellite broadcasters have been awarded will be at the same time of year and will be either of the opening two Tests against the summer's 'lesser' visitors, but never the Lord's Test.

Every Test ground bar Lord's have now experimented with floodlights for selected games and Edgbaston will be at the front of the queue to stage the first game, barring any late attempt to take next year's World Cup into floodlit territory, in June 2000.

"We firmly believe in floodlit cricket," said Dennis Amiss, the Warwickshire chief executive. "The matches we held last year averaged 8,000 spectators, each of them in indifferent weather, and 16,000 came to watch Somerset on a balmy evening the season before. But for internationals you would need top quality lights and that might only come by installing permanent ones. We have a few residents' objections to overcome but we would love to be involved."

The England and Wales Cricket Board are considering buying a set of mobile lights to use at each ground with part of their increased income but it is unlikely that Lord's would join in the revolution, at least initially, as Westminster Council would refuse permission for lights in such a built-up area.

The ECB, meanwhile, are adamant that their controversial decision to award home Test matches to Channel 4 and so end 60 years of BBC coverage is the right one. Marketing director Terry Blake who, along with Brian Downing, has negotiated a rise in cricket's television income from £6 million eight years ago to £55 million four years ago and now £111 million when World Cup money is included, said: "Channel 4's presentation was excellent and we can look forward to more in-depth, less assumptive, coverage. They do have a reputation in the industry for high quality, innovative programmes. The extra £13 million they intend to spend on marketing was also a big factor."

Three England players - Graham Thorpe, Nasser Hussain and Dean Headley - have already been lined up to head that marketing campaign and were chosen because they reflect the multi-cultural appeal Channel 4 are looking for. Tradition, however, has not been forgotten and the corporation are determined that Richie Benaud will spearhead their presentation, a move the respected broadcaster should favour.

He will probably be joined by David Gower and Simon Hughes from the existing BBC team together with some younger presenters and commentators from a variety of backgrounds. The first woman presenter in England is also being sought and early candidates include Fiona Stephenson, wife of Hampshire's John, and Amanda Heathcote from the Maiden Management cricket PR company.

The ECB have gained guarantees from Channel 4 that there will not be advertisements at the end of each over and have privately been told that there will be fewer ads during a day's play than are currently seen during Sky matches. Initial presentation ideas include the use of aerial cameras to illustrate field placings and cameras in batsmen's helmets during practice to record footage which will then be shown before a bowler commences a spell to give the viewer a feel of his pace.

Blake is adamant that the move will be good for the game and goes as far as saying: "In Australia there were a few concerns over Channel 9 but commercial television has helped them produce the best side in the world. I don't think that; I know it. The companies make more of the game because they need a commercial return."

Structural changes, however, will have more to do with a prosperous England team than the choice of TV channel they are shown on and players must now accept that they will be spending the bulk of each summer in the high intensity international arena and away from their counties. A two-division championship and an early season regional competition, meanwhile, are likely to be instigated when the First-Class Forum meets again in December, cramming the domestic calendar even more.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)