Giant tents could end rain trouble

London: English cricket chiefs are exploring deploying “giant tents” to ensure rain no longer stops play, a report said on Wednesday.

Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper said research was being carried out into placing mesh netting over grounds after a US company approached the England and Wales Cricket Board. The ECB has spoken to the Marylebone Cricket Club, which owns Lord’s in northwest London, about the issue, the report said.

A fine, transparent mesh would be held up by wires suspended from floodlights with a hot air balloon in the centre to lift it up and create a tent-like effect. “We would look at any new technology and ways to get games on and more people playing cricket,” a spokesman for the ECB told the Telegraph.