The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rated the Lord’s and Gaddafi Stadium pitches as “unsatisfactory” following the recent results at the two venues. The Lord’s was the centre of the England vs New Zealand first Test, where the hosts defeated the Blackcaps by 115 runs on a surface that saw extreme dominance of seam. The venue has been handed a demerit point, and it marks the first sanction that the Home of Cricket has received in its history.
The Lord’s Test saw only 996 balls being bowled as England secured a big win. Only two half-centuries were scored in the match across the two innings, and it turned out to be the third-shortest match (in terms of balls) where both teams got bowled out twice. Match referee Andy Pycroft submitted his report for the Lord’s pitch and stated that “There was plenty of excessive seam movement throughout the Test and the ball also kept extremely low on several occasions,” Pycroft said in his report.ย
“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,” Pycroft added. England had set a target of 254 against New Zealand after a fifty from debutant Emilio Gay led the way. The tourists were bowled out for 138 in their second innings, giving England a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
MCC left ‘naturally frustrated’ with Lord’s pitch
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) chief executive, Rob Lawson, also spoke on the controversial pitch, saying that he was left “naturally frustrated” to see how it behaved. “We recognise that the pitch for this Test has shown more variable bounce than we would have wanted,” MCC said. “We hold ourselves to the highest standards and are naturally frustrated when a surface falls short of those expectations.”
The MCC added that it invests in the pitches at the iconic venue and contributes to the research and technology too. “MCC invests significantly each year in the preparation of the Main Square at Lord’s, as well as in research, technology and expertise aimed at producing pitches that provide a fair and consistent contest between bat and ball,” it said.
Gaddafi Stadium hit with demerit point too
For a separate match, Pakistan’s Gaddafi Stadium was also rated “unsatisfactory” for not “suiting an ODI game” during the third ODI between Pakistan and Australia. The Men in Green went on to win the match after chasing down 158, which also gave them the series win 2-1. Graeme La Brooy submitted his report for the venue. The venue has also been handed a demerit point.
“It did not suit an ODI 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,” La Brooy said.
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