Lighting up time at Lord's

_{Paul Wilson, UK sales director at Abacus Lighting Ltd, discusses the latest improvement to Lord's}

The future looks bright for Lord’s as work continues apace on the installation of permanent floodlights.

Today saw the second floodlight erected at the Home of Cricket, the latest step in the MCC's plans to have four in place in for World Twenty20 in June.

They have been designed to match the media centre, while state-of-the-art technology has been employed to ensure no light is wasted, as is the case with temporary floodlights.

Paul Wilson, UK sales director at Abacus Lighting Ltd, the company responsible for installing the lights, told ecb.co.uk: “You can’t compare this installation to others because it’s far in advance.

“They’re at the cutting edge; the technology has never been seen in the UK before. It truly is a unique solution, as it should be. It is a fitting solution at Lord’s.”

The project has been two and a half years in the making, but the lights are still on schedule to be switched on for the opening ceremony of the World Twenty20 on June 5.

The significance of the occasion will not go unnoticed by Wilson, who admitted: “The hairs on the back of the neck will be standing proud.

“The process has been fraught with challenges, but those challenges have been overcome by cutting-edge technology and start-of-the-art solutions for this iconic ground.

“If someone had said to me when I started my career with Abacus, you will one day put a permanent floodlighting installation in, I’d have said no chance. I’m privileged and really proud to be associated with it.”