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Surrey begin installing new floodlights

Surrey have begun to install their permanent floodlighting ahead of the new season and hope to complete the work by May

Cricinfo staff
05-Jan-2009
Surrey have begun to install their permanent floodlighting ahead of the new season and hope to complete the work by May.
The Oval hosts four floodlit matches during the ICC World Twenty20 in June and England play Australia in a day/night one-day international on September 4. The first match under the new lights is set to be the Twenty20 game against Sussex on May 26.
There will be four towers rising to 130 feet and they are retractable to half their length to minimise disruption to the local area. The new system will replace the old solution at the ground, where a number of temporary lights and generators were set up at the ground on a day by day basis.
Clive Stephens, The Oval's operations director, said the new floodlights and the recently installed drainage system will help maintain the ground's international standards.
"The new lights we are installing should help safeguard the future of The Oval as a major international ground for years to come. The system will allow us to bid for all international matches we choose," he said. "With a brand new outfield and drainage system and this new set of floodlights, The Oval will have to be classed as one of the very best international cricket grounds in the world."