A UK cricket club welcomes remote workers to do their jobs and watch the match too

LONDON (AP) — Working from home is the new normal for millions of people in the U.K., and Surrey County Cricket Club has spotted an opportunity to galvanize attendance at its south London ground.

Surrey, one of the most successful teams in England, is encouraging hybrid workers to come and do their jobs at The Kia Oval, the 180-year-old ground just south of the River Thames.

Over the winter, it upgraded the Wi-Fi and set aside work areas with desks, access to power and clear views of the game. “Work From Oval,” it's been dubbed.

It pondered whether it is the “best home office in the country” and crucially assured would-be-workers that “we won’t tell your boss.”

Over the three home four-day County Championship matches it has hosted this season, hundreds have taken up the chance to work at the Oval.

England's premier competition has been mocked for decades for its relatively low attendances — one man and his dog is a regularly voiced description, however unfair.

That certainly wasn't the case at The Kia Oval on Friday when Surrey hosted Sussex on the first day of their match. Over 6,000 attended, the crowd swelled by the glorious weather and the prospect of a full-day — more than seven hours — of cricket ahead.

Though the ground has a capacity of around 27,500, that's really not a bad crowd during a work day. The Oval does sell out for England test matches against other nations and for Surrey's short-format games.

Harry Ashton, director of Elite Finance Solutions, usually works from a coworking space in nearby Wimbledon. He jumped at the chance of working at the Oval for just 15 pounds ($20).

“It’s not quite as good as Lytham Cricket Club,” he quipped, referencing his local club in the northwest of England.

Ashton was joined later by some friends, and after a few hours of work, they enjoyed a beer or two. It was Friday, after all, and the start of a three-day weekend as Monday is a public holiday in the U.K.

In recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, it's been evident that many people at the Oval have their laptops to hand. Arguably, the shift toward hybrid work has become the main legacy of the pandemic.

Though more and more firms are forcing their staff to come into the office, more than a quarter of working adults in the U.K. work remotely part of the time, according to the Office for National Statistics. Critics argue that hybrid working is negatively impacting productivity, an individual's work ethic and the wider economy as a whole.

All the evidence on this particular Friday was that the dozens or so working at the ground were doing just that. Numbers were crunched and Zoom calls were held.

“I have great belief in life generally, if you treat someone like an adult, they will behave like an adult,” said Neil Munro, owner of Munron Consulting Ltd. “I don’t see any downside provided everyone treats it with respect.”

Matthew Balch, a keen club cricketer himself, agrees.

“I think all of the counties should lean into the remote worker-freelancer market to grow attendances,” he said.

Some workers were a bit more coy.

One 46-year-old woman working for a global company insisted on maintaining her anonymity, voicing concerns about how she would be perceived.

There's still a stigma.

Extension cables for power are laid out for people working during a Surrey against Sussex County Championship cricket match at the Kia Oval in London, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)

People work from the stands during a Surrey against Sussex County Championship cricket match at the Kia Oval in London, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)

People work and watch cricket during a Surrey against Sussex County Championship cricket match at the Kia Oval in London, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)

A man works during a Surrey against Sussex County Championship cricket match at the Kia Oval in London, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)

People work on their laptops during a Surrey against Sussex County Championship cricket match at the Kia Oval in London, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)

People work and watch cricket during a Surrey against Sussex County Championship cricket match at the Kia Oval in London, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks)

Now for the encore, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

Two teams which produced a 5-4 instant classic last week will take center stage on Wednesday for the second act of their Champions League semifinal.

The return game in Munich surely cannot reach the same height of drama as the waves of finessed attacks — and overwhelmed defenses — reached in Paris.

Still, coaches Luis Enrique and Vincent Kompany will aim for the stars.

“More, even more,” Kompany said in Paris, when asked about his main message to Bayern's players for the decisive second leg.

Arsenal hosts Atletico Madrid on Tuesday with the score 1-1.

The rewards for a semifinal victory are a place in the final on May 30 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.

Champions League semifinals are often more memorable than the title matches.

One year ago, an exciting Inter Milan-Barcelona contest was widely praised like the PSG-Bayern opener has been. A 3-3 first leg in Barcelona was just an appetizer for Inter’s roller coaster 4-3 win in extra time at San Siro.

In 2022, Real Madrid somehow rallied in stoppage time of the second leg to deny Manchester City victory. Two Rodrygo goals forced extra time that was settled by Karim Benzema’s penalty for a 3-1 win. The wild first leg had finished 4-3 to City in Manchester.

A vintage knockout phase in 2019 was capped by astonishing comebacks on back-to-back nights in the semifinal second legs by Liverpool against Barcelona and Tottenham at Ajax.

It is perhaps eight years since a truly compelling back-and-forth final, when substitute Gareth Bale’s goals — the first an iconic bicycle kick — lifted Madrid to a 3-1 win over Liverpool in Kyiv.

While PSG excelled in the final last year, the 5-0 rout of Inter was never competitive.

Munich was the scene of PSG's finest game last season against Inter to fulfill its Qatari owners' quest to become European champion for the first time.

The Allianz Arena is also where six-time champion Bayern won all six home games in the Champions League this season, scoring 20 goals including four past Real Madrid in a quarterfinals, second-leg thriller three weeks ago.

Munich is the only candidate to host the Champions League final again in 2028. UEFA should confirm that decision in September.

Coach Diego Simeone takes his Atletico team to north London for a third game this season. Third time lucky?

Atletico lost 4-0 at Arsenal in a league-phase game in October and survived a 3-2 loss at Tottenham in the second leg of the round of 16 that easily could have been a bigger margin. Atletico also started this Champions League campaign in England in September — and lost, 3-2 at Liverpool.

It all adds up to five games lost by Atletico in its 15-game Champions League campaign so far, while Arsenal has the last remaining unbeaten record.

Neither team has been European champion. It's 10 years since Atletico played in the last of its three finals, losing to Real Madrid, and 20 years since Arsenal lost its only final, against Barcelona.

All four semifinalists were awarded, and scored, a penalty kick last week. A fifth was awarded to Arsenal but then overturned after the referee was sent to his pitchside monitor to review replays.

Since the Video Assistant Referee system made its World Cup debut in 2018, the trend in top-tier games has been to award ever more spot-kicks.

None of the five decisions last week was universally praised, and the two handball incidents showed how UEFA’s view differs to many coaches, players and fans.

UEFA’s director of refereeing Roberto Rosetti has previously said “we don’t like soft penalties” and cautioned against “microscopic VAR interventions” — which seemed to be happening last week.

For each handball, the ball first deflected from the body of, respectively, Bayern’s Alphonso Davies and Arsenal’s Ben White before contacting an arm which was not held tight to the side of their bodies. That is typically not a penalty in the English Premier League but almost certainly is in UEFA competitions.

Rosetti plans to meet soon with refereeing officials from Europe’s main leagues to seek more clarity and consistency next season.

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Atletico Madrid's head coach Diego Simeone gestures from the touchline during a Champions League semifinal, first leg, soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Arsenal in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez, center, is challenged by Arsenal's Declan Rice during a Champions League semifinal, first leg, soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Arsenal in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Bayern's Luis Diaz, center right, and PSG's Vitinha embrace at the end of a Champions League semifinal, first leg, soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in Paris, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

PSG's head coach Luis Enrique grimaces during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in Paris, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PSG's Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a Champions League semifinal, first leg, soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in Paris, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)