Lord's stands firm against ICC's alcohol ban

Lord's is intending to retain its existing policy on permitting alcohol to be brought into the ground, in violation of a worldwide attempt by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to ban the practice.

The ICC is keen to discourage the consumption of alcohol, to try and improve safety for spectators and players.

Lord's enjoys a long tradition of allowing spectators to bring in alcohol to enjoy with a summer's afternoon picnic, and is intending to continue its promotion of the 2006 calendar with its 2005 policy in place.

An MCC spokesman said: "We do not support changes which would give our visitors less choice than before while, at the same time, increasing the cost of their day at the cricket.

"In addition, we believe that ground safety issues – which we take extremely seriously, as our record shows – are best determined locally, by the ground authority, the police and the relevant safety licensing body.

"In our view, this is more appropriate than the adoption of a 'one size fits all' international approach."