The Lord’s pitch used for England’s first Test victory over New Zealand has been rated as “unsatisfactory”, with the venue handed one demerit point under the ICC’s Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.
Lord’s 150th Test match was the ground’s second shortest on record, lasting 165 overs in total. Thirty-three wickets fell inside the first two days, with England’s Harry Brook and Emilio Gay the only two players to bring up half-centuries.
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Nathan Smith took six wickets against England in a stellar performance on day two of the first Test at Lord’s
The MCC apologised afterwards for the condition of the pitch, adding it will “act quickly” to rectify the issue after receiving criticism for the wicket’s uneven bounce during England’s 115-run win.
In a statement released after England took a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series against New Zealand, an MCC spokesperson said: “We recognise the pitch for this Test has shown more variable bounce than we would have wanted.
“We hold ourselves to the highest standards and are naturally frustrated when a surface falls short of those expectations.”
MCC grounds staff have worked hard in the off-season to try and bring the pitch up to Test standard, relaying the outfield and even blowing 200°C steam on the wicket, in a bid to kill pathogens in the soil.
They had hoped the measures would revitalise the ageing wicket, but concerns were raised that the wicket was not conducive to the Test format.
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New Zealand took three wickets from just five balls against England on day two of the first Test at Lord’s
Match Referee Andy Pycroft submitted a report expressing the concerns of the match officials and the captains.
“There was plenty of excessive seam movement throughout the Test and the ball also kept extremely low on several occasions,” Pycroft said of the Lord’s surface.
“The bounce was variable throughout as 16 wickets fell on the first day and 17 on the second. There was simply an over-balance in favour of ball against bat caused by the pitch.”
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Concerns over the condition of the Lord’s pitch continued to grow as batters and bowlers faced constant issues
The report has been forwarded to the ECB, who have 14 days to appeal against the sanction. Lord’s has no previous demerit points.
The Gaddafi Stadium pitch in Lahore was also rated as “unsatisfactory” and given one demerit point for the third ODI between Pakistan and Australia played on June 4, in which the hosts won by four wickets after bowling Australia out for 157.
If a venue receives six demerit points over a five year period it will be suspended from hosting international cricket matches for a year.
Broad: MCC need to improve the pitch
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An early wicket for England on day four of the first Test as Josh Tongue trapped New Zealand’s Tom Blundell lbw
Former England fast bowler and Sky Sports Cricket analyst Stuart Broad was one of several former players, including Simon Doull and Nasser Hussain, to claim the MCC needed to refurbish the ageing wicket.
“It’s not ideal and it’s not been a good pitch for some time now. Something needs to happen and something needs to change.
“Lord’s are very aware of that. The Home of Cricket is a wonderful venue. It does most things just about perfectly but the pitch isn’t doing its part at the moment. That’s just not in this Test match, that’s in ODIs, The Hundred, the Vitality Blast.
“It’s the place that everyone wants to come and play, but I don’t think there are many batters who will be leaving today saying: ‘That was good fun’.”
Former New Zealand bowler and Sky Sports Cricket analyst Simon Doull added the surface did “too much”.
“It was an incredibly difficult Test match from a batting point of view,” Doull said.
“But I think there is many a bowler in England and around the world who would have got wickets on that surface because they bowl a good line and a good length.
“The two innings that probably made the difference were when the catches were dropped in Harry Brook’s innings and then Emilio Gay, I thought was superb. Only two guys were struggling to get to 50; it was dominated by the bowlers.
“It was tough, really tough. But for those watching, it was very interesting to watch, but the batters didn’t enjoy it.”
Watch day one of the second Test between England and New Zealand, at The Kia Oval, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am on Wednesday June 17 (11am first ball). Stream cricket and more with NOW – no contract.
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