Lord's prepares to join the Twenty20 party

The denizens of Lord's are all set to let their hair down for the first time in history tonight, when the Twenty20 Cup takes place in front of a 21,000 full house. But for all the banners, flags and fancy-dress on show, the party will not be allowed to get too far out of hand. Westminster Council's sound engineers will be on standby to ensure there is no breach of the peace in St John's Wood.

Musical interludes will accompany the key moments of tonight's seminal clash between Middlesex and Surrey, but the volume will be kept to a reasonable limit, and once again there will be no musical instruments permitted in the ground. The match promises to be the most eagerly supported non-final county match at Lord's for more than 50 years, when the two teams met in the Championship in 1953.

On that occasion, however, the match petered away to a dull draw, and of the final day, Wisden wrote: "the cricket certainly did not provide the entertainment the large crowd deserved." It can only be assumed that this evening's bash will be rather a more spectacular affair.

Though the ECB has noticeably done away with the blazer-and-tie look for this competition, the usual dress codes will apply in the Lord's pavilion, although not, presumably, at the Nursery end of the ground, where an amusement arcade has been set up in the indoor school. The previous record attendance for a Twenty20 match was 14,862 for last year's Roses match at Old Trafford, although that record ought to be smashed this evening.

John Emburey, Middlesex's coach, and a man who experienced Lord's crowds of all shapes and sizes in his playing career, has warned his players not to be overawed at the turn-out this evening, although, with Surrey on a roll and unbeaten in all ten of their matches since the competition's inception, they have a tough task ahead of them.