Three squads competed for the third annual Hayden Laboratories Pro Sound & Lighting Cricket Trophy, in which teams representing the PLASA Show's lighting and sound exhibitors took on the might of the PLASA Show organisers, Clarion Events. After successfully defending their title in 2000, Clarion were set for a fall this year, and fall they did, losing in the final to the PLASA Audio team, captained by Hayden Labs' Simon Curtis.
All three teams fielded some great performances during the day, with only one notable injury - to the neck of PLASA's financial controller Shane McGreevy (playing for PLASA Lighting), who took a show-stopping catch to send Clarion's James Brooks-Ward back to the pavilion, having troubled the scorers (Justin & Simon from Mondiale) not one bit. Another member of the PLASA staff, Jan Shepherd, helped the audio team on their way to victory by taking no less than four Clarion wickets in a single over, while Charles Ward of Nexus Media also took a clutch of wickets and boosted Berkshire's annual figures for woodchip production. This highly enjoyable day was sponsored by Hayden Labs and Clarion, who kept everyone well fed and watered.
Audio Team captain Simon Curtis of Hayden Labs graciously accepted the Trophy from Clarion’s representative, James Duck-Ward. Speaking during the post-match presentations, Lightfactor’s Paul De Ville, captain of the PLASA Lighting team, thanked all those who had supported the event - players and spectators alike - adding that the long-awaited defeat of Clarion was "******* brilliant" - a sentiment shared by two-thirds of those present.
