The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) are considering fitting mesh canopies at cricket grounds to allow matches to continue during rain delays.
UK newspaper The Telegraph said that tests on the new technology are at an early stage, but the ECB and the MCC, which operates Lord’s (pictured), are said to be interested.
The innovative technology has been launched by a US company, which recently approached the ECB regarding the project.
The project would see a fine, transparent mesh suspended from floodlights, with a hot air balloon to be placed above the centre of the ground to create a tent-like effect.
The Telegraph said that the proposal is still two years away from becoming a reality, with issues such as water run-off and high winds to be considered.
“There is some interesting technology around trying to create protection from rain and keep the game on in wet weather,” Guy Lavender, MCC chief executive, told The Telegraph. “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? What would you like us to get involved in? The good thing about the MCC is we have the ability to make choices about where we seek to invest and influence.”
As well as hot air balloons, tethered drones are being considered to hold up the mesh.
Image: Daniel
