Lord's pitch rated 'unsatisfactory' by ICC following England's first Test win

The ICC gave the Lord's surface for the first Test between England and New Zealand last week a rating of "unsatisfactory." As a result, the board's pitch and outfield monitoring process gave the venue one demerit point. This is the first such punishment that the sport's most famous ground has received.

England won the first Test of their home summer by 115 runs, but the contest only reached the fourth morning of the match because of regular rain interruptions. All 40 wickets fell in the space of 996 balls, making it the shortest completed Test at Lord's in almost 140 years.

"There was a lot of excessive seam movement throughout the Test and the ball also kept extremely low on several occasions," the ICC match referee Andy Pycroft stated in his assessment of the pitch. Twenty-four of those 40 dismissals were either bowled or lbw. 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."

The England & Wales Cricket Board now has 14 days to appeal the sanction after receiving the report. However, MCC, who own and run Lord's, has already admitted culpability for the surface, with Ben Stokes, England's captain, adding that such "extreme conditions" would not help the future of Test cricket.

MCC has invested heavily in attempts to improve the playing surfaces in recent years - including "steaming" the pitch and relaying the outfield this winter - but chief executive Rob Lawson acknowledged in a statement on Sunday that the pitch for the first Test had fallen short of expectations.

Lawson stated, "We acknowledge that the pitch for this Test has shown more variable bounce than we would have liked." "When a surface falls short of those expectations, we naturally become frustrated because we hold ourselves to the highest standards." Lawson said that the combination of unseasonably hot weather in May followed by rain in the build-up to the Test had "presented a number of challenges" for head groundsman Karl McDermott and his staff.

"However, we fully recognise the need to act quickly," he added.

Stokes, England's captain, said that while the pitch had ensured first-day ticket-holders had "a great time", the combination of "up-and-down bounce" and "quite excessive seam movement" was unlikely to safeguard the future of Test cricket. Tom Latham, his opposite number, took a similar stance, saying that it was "unfortunate" that the Test had not lasted longer.

"I get asked questions all the time about the longevity of this format," Stokes said. "The game is played over five days. Without the weather, it wouldn't even have finished on day four. That [early finish] is not ideal for someone who believes Test cricket should never disappear.

"It's great from a playing standpoint to be challenged. Next week [at The Oval], the conditions might be completely different. We will have to do the same thing: quickly evaluate the circumstances and determine the best strategy for winning.

"It is tough for groundsmen. With 16 wickets falling in a day, they are not actively producing difficult wickets, as was the case on day one. But I get asked all the time about what needs to happen, saving Test cricket and this, that and the other.

That's not going to be good for the game in the future when you see extreme conditions like that." After Sunday's early conclusion, MCC permitted fans to enter the outfield, and since fewer than 30 overs were bowled, fourth-day ticket holders will be eligible for a 50% refund. On day three, fans were given full refunds after only 58 legitimate balls were bowled due to rain and bad light.

In a separate citation, the pitch at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore, where Pakistan and Australia will play the third One-Day International, received a demerit point for being rated "unsatisfactory." Pakistan won by four wickets, chasing 158, with match referee Graeme Labrooy criticizing the "slow and low" conditions and excessive assistance for spin bowling.