Cricket goes to the seaside...

Traditionally watched by old buffers in blazers and bacon-and-egg ties, cricket is going into overdrive to sell itself to a new generation of fans.

Test matches are being shown on big screens across the country, with beach parties, movies and DJs by night to attract the sort of person who might otherwise assume LBW is a designer drug.

Next month sees the roadshows scheme, a joint effort between Channel 4 and the English Cricket Board, hit Clapham Common for the final Test of the current Ashes series. This weekend Bristol gets the groovy cricket experience, and last month it was Brighton's turn, with a giant screen erected on the beach between the two piers.

Perfectly, for organisers and fans alike, the sun was shining and the temperature warm. For anyone with £1.20 to spare, a front-row deckchair could be hired to watch the ball-byball coverage.

As work ended and the weekend began, it seemed like everyone under the age of 30 - and quite a few more - headed to the beach for the post-cricket entertainment: free DJ sets by Groove Armada and hometown star Fatboy Slim. The organisers at Channel 4 were expecting up to 20,000 people; thanks to a sultry night there must have been twice that, turning Brighton beach into Ibiza for the night.

It was the city's biggest free party of the summer, involving the kind of people the English Cricket Board is trying to reach through its new marketing initiative, staging spectacular outdoor events around the country for each Test match. Spokesman Mark Hodgson said: "We are making great strides in trying to appeal to a younger audience. They are the lifeblood of the sport and its future and we have to think up ways to encourage them."

There must have been a lot of sick notes in Brighton that day. Greg was having his dog put down in the morning. Then, by bizarre coincidence, he had a family wedding to attend in the afternoon.

His boss had been most sympathetic. "If I'm caught out," he shrugged, "I'd like to be caught out like this." Then he took another swig of beer and turned back to the cricket.

Dan was skiving off his usual job of persuading people to switch their energy supplies.

He said: "I really ought to be at work but I love cricket too much. I don't suppose I can interest you in getting 10 per cent off your fuel bills?"

The final Oval Test will be relayed live to Clapham Common from 23 to 27 August, where Paul Oakenfold will DJ on the Friday night and the film O Brother Where Art Thou will be shown on Saturday night.