The new floodlights at Kent County Cricket Club were used for the first time last weekend at the first floodlit game at the stadium when Kent Spitfires play Middlesex Panthers.

The five unique state-of-the-art telescopic masts have been manufactured in the UK by exterior lighting specialists Abacus as part of a £1.4 million contract. The new floodlights at the ground will enable more night time cricket games to go ahead, attracting bigger crowds to the ground with the possibility of television coverage for matches in the future.

“We see floodlighting as a big opportunity for Kent Cricket - not least in terms of televising matches due to the high quality of the floodlights, but also in terms of attracting big crowds,” comments Jamie Clifford, Chief Executive, of Kent County Cricket Club.

“We can now look forward to hosting evening matches that will help encourage a different audience such as families - as well as bigger crowds than we expect with earlier match start times.

“In addition, we have had problems with temporary lights at Canterbury having had two fixtures curtailed as a result of windy conditions.  Permanent state-of-the-art telescopic floodlighting means that the ground is match-ready as long as it doesn’t rain.

” Abacus has manufactured the masts each with 60 Challenger® 3 floodlights to provide 2000 lux over the wicket maintained lighting level. In situ, the masts fully extend to 38 metres and retract to 23 metres maximising the light within the ground for floodlit cricket matches.

“The telescopic masts are unique to Abacus, comply with English Cricket Board guidelines and have been instrumental in helping Kent Cricket gain important planning applications. When not in use, the masts will retract to a lower height which ensures that they have less visual impact on the surrounding residential area – an enormous plus-point for the city council when considering the planning application,” explains Paul Wilson, UK Sports Lighting Sales Director, Abacus Lighting.

“Our masts have been installed in many of the UK’s cricket grounds helping cricket clubs to maximise business opportunities by attracting new and larger audiences to the game of cricket.”

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