Cricket: MCC making baseball pitch

(First Edition)

WHILE The Oval is already playing host to Australian Rules football, Lord's, the home of cricket, is apparently standing by to open its gates to American baseball, according to a report that the MCC is looking to stage a game between major league teams on the ground in October next year.

The MCC secretary, John Stephenson, quoted in a Sunday newspaper, said: 'My immediate reaction was to say, 'Not on your Nellie, not at Lord's'. But the cricket committee have approved the idea in principle and have instructed me to investigate further. Providing baseball does no harm to the playing area, this idea is clearly of great interest to us.'

The Lord's pitch would be converted to a diamond at the end of the cricket season next year if the plan is carried through. The MCC, having been hit by the economic recession, is hoping to earn close to pounds 1m by attracting a capacity crowd of 28,000 for a game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.