No more rain delays in cricket? MCC and ECB plan suspending mesh canopies over stadiums

The testing is at a very early stage but it has attracted interest from the England and Wales Cricket Board. (Source: Reuters)

Rains may not be viewed as much of a crisis in India as far as cricket is concerned but that has not been the case this year in England. The undependable nature of England’s weather was there for all to see during the ICC Champions Trophy in which Australia were able to play only one full match and were practically knocked by the rains.

Rains have been more adverse for the domestic cricket season in England. 16 matches in last year’s Natwest Blast were washed out. “There is some interesting technology around trying to create protection from rain and keep the game on in wet weather,” MCC CEO Guy Lavender is quoted as saying by Telegraph Sport, “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,” said Lavender.

The testing is at a very early stage but it has attracted interest from the England and Wales Cricket Board. A company in the United States approached the ECB recently with a proposal to help solve the problem of rain at sporting events. A very fine, transparent mesh would be held up by wires suspended from floodlights with a hot air balloon in the centre to lift it up and create a tent like effect.