IT WILL be the biggest crowd Hampshire's cricket ground has ever seen with more than 16,000 people packed into the Rose Bowl for tomorrow's England v Sri Lanka match.

But traffic chaos and excessive noise feared by local residents will not be a problem according to police and organisers.

Projects director at the Rose Bowl, Geoff Cox, said they have increased the number of stewards up to 300 to cater for the larger crowds and to heighten security.

Also, they have tripled resources for the park-and-ride scheme in Bursledon and shuttle buses from Southampton Parkway and Hedge End train stations that will transport spectators to the match.

He said: "It's something we've been planning for months. This match is the big one.

"But we have gone out of our way to make sure that local residents aren't unduly disturbed. We will be checking the noise levels outside the stadium every hour so that people are not disrupted."

He added: "The India v Kenya match last Saturday was really colourful and noisy but we haven't received a single complaint. I'm hoping that will be the case again tomorrow."

Insp Paul Newstead, of Hedge End police, said they have reviewed resources for the big match to ensure there are enough police present during the day.

"We are expecting it to all go smoothly.

"Cricket crowds tend to go to the match to watch the cricket and not cause any other problems, but we are ready for any eventualities that may arise."

He added: "We have a traffic movement plan in place and people are being encouraged to get to the park-and-ride early.

"The match starts at 10.15am and there will be buses running from 8am. Ideally people should not leave getting to the match to the last minute."

Resident John Pilcher, of Botley Road, is used to shielding his eardrums from noise blasting across his neighbourhood from the Rose Bowl. He is sceptical that the match will not disturb them again tomorrow.

"I don't want to stop people from enjoying themselves but, at the end of the day, we've got to live with it," he said.