Lancashire to launch inquiry into pitch invasion

Lancashire are to hold a private inquiry following the pitch invasion that marred Pakistan's thrilling two-wicket victory over England at Old Trafford on Tuesday night. In what is becoming a familiar scene at Pakistan matches, over 1000 jubilant fans stormed the pitch, waving flags and lighting flares, as the players ran for the safety of the dressing-room.

Officials at Old Trafford now fear an official reprimand for their failure to prevent the scenes, although Jim Cumbes, Lancashire's chief executive, was adamant that their ability to hold international matches was not in question. "I don't think the other night will affect our status as an international venue," he said. "We've worked hard on the way we organise our matches and believe we have made progress in that.

"I think the England & Wales Cricket Board would accept that it is very difficult to keep back such a force as we saw the other night," added Cumbes. "We'll have to consider what happened and look at obliterating this problem."

Cumbes's case, however, was not helped by an embarrassing incident involving the photographer, Graham Morris, who was ejected from the ground by seven security men after climbing onto the roof of the press-box to take some panoramic shots of the ground. Morris, whose work often features in official ECB publications, had all the appropriate ID but that cut no ice with the security staff. "I needed to get my equipment, but they obviously saw that as a reluctance to move," said Morris. "When I got back down the ladder, I thought that was that, but they claimed I was being abusive."

Lancashire would not comment on the incident, but it seems there were rather fewer than seven heavies per supporter when the pitch invasion occurred. "I'm waiting for a full report on what happened," said Cumbes, "but from what I've been told there were some positive aspects to it, although obviously the pitch invasion was very disturbing and seen by everyone."

Surrey, who host tomorrow's second match at The Oval, are leaving nothing to chance. "We'll be forced to have a fairly obtrusive presence of stewards who will form a complete ring round the perimeter for at least 15 minutes before the end of the game," said Paul Sheldon, Surrey's chief executive. "In that way a very clear message is sent to the crowd at an early stage."