Henry Blofeld: Future still looks dim for floodlit cricket in England

When Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket burst upon the scene in 1977 and the game's establishment closed ranks against it, the opposition in England was more solid than anywhere. In some places still, the very mention of Packer exposes raw nerves and the divide within the game has never completely healed.

Yet, over the years, just about every single innovation of Packer's has been adopted, not only by the English but by the game all round the world. Coloured clothing for one-day cricket, white balls and black sightscreens, the uniform length of the game played over 50 overs a side, the single break between innings rather than the traditional lunch and tea intervals, have all come to stay.

So, too, has the flagship of World Series Cricket which was day-night cricket played under floodlights. Those giant banks of floodlights which rose to the skies like so many giant mushrooms in Sydney and Melbourne have spread to the other main grounds in Australia. They have also found their way to South Africa and the subcontinent and have penetrated the Caribbean.

The only country which has dragged its feet on this issue has been England and not because of an innate, ongoing hostility to those who had the original idea. The climate in England has been the problem. The long summer evenings have meant that floodlights in midsummer only come into their own for the last hour or so of a game.

The rainfall has been a sizeable obstacle too. It has undoubtedly deterred the game's authorities from putting in permanent banks of extremely expensive lighting. If it rains and no cricket is possible it all becomes self-defeating. None the less, in recent years the game here has tiptoed towards kilowatt cricket.

A certain amount of what one always feels are hastily improvised floodlights have been temporarily installed for one-day internationals now that England has at last firmly embraced that particular culture with 10 games being scheduled each season. The recent triangular tournament saw lights being used at Trent Bridge, Chester-le-Street and Bristol.

These games produced full-house crowds, but would probably have done so if played in the normal daytime hours. The lights themselves have been a problem and in recent years those hired for the night at Old Trafford and Edgbaston have been rather too low on the kilowatts. The players and spectators have found it harder to see what is happening than they have under those massive lights overseas.

One-day international cricket under lights in this country has so far seemed to be paying little more than a form of lip service to the general idea. Judging from the crowds which pack into the day games, the benefit of lights for international cricket is questionable. The day when Lord's is disfigured by floodlight pylons may happily never arrive for the simple reason that there is little point in them except maybe a desire to be seen to be terribly avant garde.

But there is without doubt a future for floodlights in county cricket even though this will be limited. In the remaining weeks of the season there will be 22 limited- over matches in the Norwich Union League played under lights. Sussex are so confident of the future that they are the only county to have installed permanent lights at the County Ground in Hove.

Sussex have already played a day-night game against India in June and it was a great success. Three thousand people packed in paying £15 a time. It was an excellent night out and provided plenty of fun. There was a popular family area at the top of the ground especially prepared for children. There was suitable food for the whole family and free coaching for anyone who came along and, significantly, the county's corporate sponsors showed great interest.

Their former batsman, Neil Lenham, now the county's marketing manager was delighted by the success of the evening and is eagerly anticipating their forthcoming county games. In Northampton, the chief executive, Stephen Coverdale, one of the most go-ahead of administrators, is also bullish about day-night county cricket.

He added a cautionary note though, when he pointed out that counties must guard against over exposing floodlight cricket. Northamptonshire played Sri Lanka under lights last month and the game attracted 3,000 people and was a success not least as far as their corporate sponsors were concerned.

But they have another game against Derbyshire and the sponsors are hanging back from that one on the basis of "been there, done that". The novelty has worn off for this year and the corollary to this is that to put in permanent lights for one or possibly two evenings a year when the weather cannot be guaranteed, is not a justifiable gamble.

All eyes will be on what happens down in Hove. It may be that in a south coast holiday resort, floodlit cricket will exercise a stronger pull and the eight banks of lights are ready to welcome all-comers. But whichever way you look at it, the appeal of cricket under floodlights in England is unlikely ever to have more than a limited appeal.