Lord’s will bid for Twenty20 finals
November 27, 2007 • Twenty20 World Cup
MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw is still finding it hard to digest the fact that even the Lord’s need to bid for the matches if it is interested to host any in the next installment of ICC word Twenty20 cup scheduled to be held in England in 2009. Gone or the days when you can say any international tournament to be held in England will have its Finals conducted in the Mecca of Cricket the Lord’s.
Speaking to news persons Bradshaw told “It’s a shame we have to bid, being the home of cricket, but I accept there are conditions attached. Over the next two weeks we will be working night and day to prepare the bid. My vision is that we will host the final, the warm-up games and group matches.”
“The event in 2009 will be a massive event. I don’t think people have quite realised how big this could be for London and the country. Twenty20 cricket is here to stay and it’s the way of the future and we [the MCC] are embracing it. There may have been a perception that the MCC was all about Test matches, but that’s not the case at all.” he further added.
In the 2004 Champions Trophy - Lord’s missed out on hosting matches with Edgbaston, The Oval and the Rose Bowl. With the development of new grounds such as the Rose Bowl, Cardiff and Bristol, the Lord’s is no longer guaranteed key matches, With this in mind Bradshaw is also preparing to negotiate the latest round of staging agreements with the ECB.