Sports Minister Richard Caborn will look into way to prevent pitch invasions at cricket matches.

The newly-appointed minister said that he had asked his officials to look into what steps could be taken after fans raced onto the field towards the end of England's one-day match with Pakistan on Sunday.

The incident at Headingley prompted stand-in skipper Alec Stewart to concede the match because the safety of the players and officials could not be guaranteed.

"I will be speaking to the Home Secretary David Blunkett, and I have asked my officials to look to see what can be done immediately.

"It is not just an English issue - it is an international one and we will have to work with the ICC.

"We have to make sure we have good protection for both the players and officials."

Meetings sought

A steward had two ribs and his spleen injured during the latest incident after similar scenes during the match against the same sides at Edgbaston.

The chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board Lord MacLaurin said something had to be done about the continued offences.

ECB director of corporate affairs John Read said it was seeking a meeting with Caborn in an attempt to have a law introduced specifically to curb pitch invasions.

"The ECB intends to speak to new Sports Minister Richard Caborn to examine the possibility of bringing in legislation to deal with this issue."

Cricket grounds do not fall under laws governing fans encroaching onto football pitches and if the Government chose to act it could be nearly a year before any changes were implemented.