Twenty/2O Comes To Dean Court - Hampshire XI Vs PCA Masters Mon 25/8

Dean Court will open its gates to the Twenty/20 Cricket revolution next month when a PCA Masters team comprising a number of household names will take on a Hampshire XI on Bank Holiday Monday August 25th.

Devon Malcolm, John Emburey and Graham Thorpe have been named in a PCA Masters squad to take on a Hampshire side that will feature several current players.

Australia's Ian Harvey, West Indies duo Phil Simmons and Vasbert Drakes, New Zealand's Nathan Astle and Zimbabwe's Grant Flower will add the international flavour.

An artificial wicket will be placed inside the centre circle and the technology behind the set up will ensure no damage to the pitch for future Cherries matches.

Cherries next play at home nineteen days after the Twenty/20 showdown and although that is good news for the pitch, it re-iterates the need for the club to maximise non-football revenue.

Chief Executive Alastair Saverimutto said, "The main Twenty/20 match will headline what we hope will be a great day's entertainment. There will be a game between two local colts sides as a warm-up and numerous other things going on around the ground.

"From a commercial point of view, there is only so much you can squeeze from this club in terms of football revenue. We have a fantastic platform to do that with this stadium and to take the club forward, we need to develop other areas.

"In simple terms, we need to start using this venue more than 25 times a year on matchdays and hope this will be the first of many events we stage here."

Doors open at noon on Bank Holiday Monday and tickets are priced £20 for adults and £10 for concessions. Tickets can be booked by calling 01202 726338.

Full details of a celebrity packed gala dinner in conjunction with the event will be published later in the week.