Ask the Umpire - cricket trivia
Sunday 4 May
Woodsie East Yorks: Regarding ground development, how about building a bigger stadium on the Old Trafford site? There's plenty of room there, don't you think? And another thing, is Headingley being used as a venue for the next Ashes series? I was told it wasn't.
The Umpire: Headingley is hosting the fourth Ashes Test on 7-11 August. You're right about Old Trafford, though, who have lost their Ashes Test for 2009.
Saturday 3 May
Woodsie, East Yorks: Cheers matey. I thought it was going to get much bigger though. How come we can't get a MCG sized stadium? Its not like we'd never fill it? And with popularity on the up, surely it's worth considering?
The Umpire says: From a practical point of view I'd imagine the confines of the surrounding built-up area would prevent an MCG-style super stadium on the present Lord's site. Funding may be another issue, although with Sky's money in their back pocket, perhaps it's not!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday 29 April
Woodsie in East Yorks: Hi Umps. I've heard Lord's is being extended. Do you know anything about this? If so, what will the capacity be?
The Umpire says: According to £200m proposals announced by the MCC, there will be major improvements to all the stands, increasing the capacity by 10,000 to 38,500. The plan is to introduce floodlights that can be built up during the summer and taken down in winter. Later they would become a permanent, albeit retractable, feature. There would be no change to the main playing area or to the Nursery ground which is used for a variety of purposes including pre-match practice and experiments with new technology. But there could be a new academy building. The project is still at an early stage.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday 28 April
Nottingham Red: Why don't Ireland and Scotland play under names like Dublin and Glasgow in order to stop the indignity of a country playing a county!
The Umpire: All sorts of issues will have to be resolved if and when the EPL goes ahead. Yes there's talk of city as opposed to county names, and even a suggestion that Yorkshire and Lancashire should merge. Can't see that happening, and I'm not too sure that crowds would flock to watch matches in Dublin or Glasgow. But once the gravy-train starts rolling, who knows where it will end up.
