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The England vs New Zealand first Test has ended in favour of the hosts, as they defeated the Kiwis by 115 runs at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground, London. In the 150th Test match held at this venue, the pitch was not a sporting one as both teams had struggled to score runs across both innings, only once the 200-run mark was breached.
Former cricketers, like Simon Doull, Nasser Hussain, and Michael Vaughan, all criticised the wicket of the first test match, as 40 wickets fell in 166 overs - a wicket fell every 24.9 balls in a bowler-dominated game. This was a graveyard for the batters as only one batter scored a half century, with debutant Emilio Gay scoring 54 runs.
Ben Stokes was unhappy with the Lord's pitch
Previously, MCC had said they were "frustrated" by a Lord's pitch that saw wickets fall in, and England captain Ben Stokes said that such "extreme conditions" would not help the future of Test cricket. The pitch had invariable bounce, led to balls staying low and others hitting batters' bodies, and 24 out of 40 dismissals were either bowled or lbw. This showcased the whole scenario of the Test match.
Previously, Chief executive Rob Lawson stated, "We recognise that 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."
Lawson said that the hot weather in May, followed by rain ahead of the Test match 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.
England vs New Zealand pitch gets demerit points
Now, after several criticisms, the International Cricket Council (ICC) have provided its rating for the pitch, calling it 'unsatisfactory,' and the venue has also received one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process for the England vs New Zealand match.
Match referee Andy Pycroft discussed the Lord's wicket. He said, "There was plenty of excessive seam movement throughout the Test and the ball also kept extremely low on several occasions. 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."
Coming to the match, England were invited to bat first, and they were bowled out for 140 runs. Then, the Kiwis scored 113 runs, followed by England posting a target of 254 runs, and the visitors failed to chase as they got bundled out for 138 runs.
Pakistan vs Australia pitch called 'unsatisfactory' rating
Another pitch that received an 'unsatisfactory' rating was Pakistan's Gaddafi Stadium, which hosted the third ODI between Australia and Pakistan. "The pitch was slow and low and made scoring runs very difficult."
"It did not suit a One Day International game as batters had to spend more time to settle in. It helped spin very early in the match and continued the same way throughout," said match referee Graeme La Brooy's report.
