Lord’s Pitch Rated ‘Unsatisfactory’ After England’s Win Over New Zealand

The pitch used for the first Test between England and New Zealand at Lord’s has been officially rated “poor” after players, pundits and cricket authorities all rounded on the venue when the match finished inside four days. The lack of a true batting surface saw England complete an emphatic 115-run win in the contest, marked largely by bowler-dominant displays from both sides on a pitch that displayed erratic bounce and excessive seam movement for much of the match.

This reportedly included the 150th men’s Test at Lord’s, in which 40 wickets tumbled through only 167 overs to make it one of the shortest matches ever played at the famous venue. Batters of both teams found the track hard to tackle and that reflected in only two half-centuries being scored throughout the contest. There were also concerns about competition in the contest with critics arguing that the pitch provided little balance between bat and ball.

After the win, Ben Stokes was one of the loudest to criticise his England players. Stokes said: ‘Surfaces that serve up such extreme conditions don’t do Test cricket any favours and, in the long-term interests of the format, maybe even threaten its future. There should be something in it not for just the batters but also the bowlers and a five-day contest shouldn’t end quickly due to an overly tricky surface, he stressed.

The MCC, the custodians of Lord’s, admitted that the pitch had been below standard and apologised. “Pitch showed more inconsistent bounce than we expected and didn’t reach the standards we expect at the Home of Cricket,” MCC chief executive Rob Lawson said. The club blamed difficult weather conditions, including an unseasonably warm and dry May followed by wet weather in the lead-up to the Test.

After just two days of the match, 33 wickets had fallen, and ex-England captain Nasser Hussain said it was “not good enough” for Test cricket. A chorus of commentators and analysts, like Kemar Roach at times on Friday, referred to it as one of the most erratic Test surfaces seen in England for several years.

England will be encouraged by the win with the series now heading for the second Test match at The Oval on June 17 despite the controversy. MCC has pledged fast action to improve pitch preparation, but the ban did not please the Lords.

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