Lord's pitch rated 'unsatisfactory' by ICC

The Lord's pitch for the first Test between England and New Zealand has been rated as "unsatisfactory" by the International Cricket Council, with the historic venue also given one demerit point.

England completed a 115-run win on Sunday but the surface was incredibly difficult for batting. The match would have been over inside two days if not for bad weather.

The "unsatisfactory" rating is the second lowest grading available to the ICC, beaten only by "unfit".

As Lord's does not have any previous demerit points on its record it is not at risk of any further immediate punishment from the world's governing body.

"There was plenty of excessive seam movement throughout the Test and the ball also kept extremely low on several occasions," match referee Andy Pycroft said.

"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 Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), owners of Lord's, admitted the surface had fallen short of expectations in a statement after the Test, while England captain Ben Stokes said such surfaces are not helpful for the future of the game's longest format.

The Test lasted 166 overs, making it the second-shortest to produce a positive result in the 150 matches held at Lord's. It was the third-shortest at any ground when all 40 wickets have fallen.

Though Lord's did not have any previous demerit points on its record, the punishment continues a trend of underwhelming surfaces at the venue.

The pitches used for the men's Tests against Ireland in 2019, New Zealand in 2021 and Australia in 2023, plus a women's one-day international against India in 2022, were all rated "average" under the ICC's previous system.

The pitch used for an ODI against Australia in 2024 and last year's Test against India also only got a "satisfactory" rating.

Lord's copied a 'steaming' technique used on the courts at the All England Lawn Tennis Club for Wimbledon during the winter, in an attempt to improve the situation.

MCC chairman Mark Nicholas revealed on Monday, external Lord's hopes to be able to use drop-in pitches - surfaces grown on the Nursery Ground before being moved into the main square - by 2028.

Lord's will host its first women's Test when England and India meet in July, while England men also return in August for the second Test against Pakistan.

In between, the venue will host white-ball internationals and matches in The Hundred.