Lord's Just Lost Its Most Famous Pitch — Here's Why

·
Listen to this article~4 min

Lord's received its first-ever ICC demerit point after a wild Test pitch produced 40 wickets in 166 overs. Now MCC is ripping up Pitch 9 and rethinking how the ground prepares surfaces.

Lord's has been hosting cricket since 1814, so when something happens there for the first time, people pay attention. This summer, the ICC handed the ground its first-ever demerit point for a substandard Test pitch. Now the club is tearing up the surface that caused it. ### The Test That Started It All Match referee Andy Pycroft issued the rating after England beat New Zealand in the first Test of the summer in early June. His report pointed to excessive seam movement and variable bounce on a strip that produced 40 wickets in just 166 overs. That's a lot of wickets in a hurry. Bowlers either bowled or trapped LBW 24 of those batters, and several deliveries stayed low — including the one that got Jacob Bethell on day two. Pitch 9 is one of five central strips used for international matches at Lord's. Until this Test, the ground had never received a demerit point. That's a remarkable run, and it's now over. ### MCC's Response: Dig It Up and Think Harder MCC chair Mark Nicholas drew up a seven-point action plan right after the match. Rob Lynch, the club's director of cricket and operations, and the ground staff have since brought in outside experts and commissioned data analysis as part of a broader review of the square and how pitches are prepared. Work on rebuilding Pitch 9 began earlier this month. Nicholas emailed members on Wednesday, saying the project would "ensure that the club prepares pitches worthy of the ground's reputation." He also warned members to brace for scheduling headaches over the next few years. > "We owe it to the players, the members, and everyone who watches cricket at Lord's to get this right." — the sentiment behind the club's seven-point plan According to Cricinfo, Lord's may add a longer lead-in period before major events like Ashes Tests, giving ground staff more time to work on surfaces. Some smaller recreational fixtures could shift to Sir Paul Getty's Ground at Wormsley, which MCC plans to use as a partner venue after a pilot programme this summer. Nothing's confirmed yet, though. ### Hybrid and Drop-In Pitches Are Part of the Plan MCC is betting on two solutions: hybrid pitches and permanent drop-in pitches. - A third hybrid strip — 95% natural turf, 5% synthetic fibre — goes in this spring - The club is producing its first three drop-in trays - The first tray moves to the main square in 2028 after time on the nursery ground Nicholas said using these surfaces efficiently will ease the pressure created by losing Pitch 9. Here's the catch: the ICC doesn't currently allow hybrid pitches in Test matches. Limited-overs internationals can use them if both teams and the ICC agree, and they're already common in English domestic cricket. Hybrid surfaces are thought to play more consistently than standard turf and recover faster between matches. Unlike the seasonal drop-ins used at multi-purpose grounds in Australia, MCC will keep its trays in place on a long-term basis. ### What's Coming Up at Lord's Lord's stages two men's Tests a year under an agreement running until 2031. Next summer brings England against Bangladesh from May 28 to June 1, then England against Australia from June 30 to July 4. The ICC has picked The Oval — not Lord's — for the 2027 World Test Championship final. Not everything went wrong this season, though. The other two Tests at Lord's — England women against India and England men against Pakistan — earned satisfactory ratings. The four limited-overs internationals, which included three women's T20 World Cup matchdays and an England men's ODI against India, received very good ratings. So the square isn't broken. Pitch 9 was. And the club is treating it that way — one strip at a time.

📌 Worth Reading Next