Lord's Relays Pitch 9 After First-Ever ICC Demerit Point

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-15

Lord's has done something it's never had to do before. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has ripped up and relaid Pitch 9 after the ICC handed the famous ground its first demerit point for an unsatisfactory Test surface. The strip will sit out of action for the next two or three seasons. ### Why the ICC Wasn't Happy Match referee Andy Pycroft gave the rating after England beat New Zealand in the first Test back in early June. His report pointed to excessive seam movement and unpredictable bounce on a surface 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 kept low, including the one that dismissed Jacob Bethell on day two. Pitch 9 is one of five central strips used for international matches at Lord's, and the ground had never received a demerit point before this Test. ### A Wider Review of Pitch Preparation MCC chair Mark Nicholas drew up a seven-point action plan straight after the match. Rob Lynch, the club's director of cricket and operations, and the ground staff have since consulted experts and commissioned data analysis as part of a review of the square and how pitches are prepared. Work on rebuilding Pitch 9 started earlier this month. Nicholas emailed members on Wednesday and said the project would "ensure that the club prepares pitches worthy of the ground's reputation." He also told members to expect some scheduling headaches over the coming years. Reports suggest Lord's may add a longer lead-in period before major events like Ashes Tests, giving ground staff more time to work on the surfaces. Some smaller recreational fixtures could move to Sir Paul Getty's Ground at Wormsley, which MCC plans to use as a partner venue after a pilot programme this summer. The club hasn't confirmed the details yet. ### Hybrid and Drop-In Pitches in the Long Game MCC intends to lean on both hybrid pitches and permanent drop-in pitches. A third hybrid strip, made of 95% natural turf and 5% synthetic fibre, will be installed in the spring. Nicholas said using these surfaces efficiently would ease the pressure created by losing Pitch 9. 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 believed to play more consistently than standard turf and to recover faster between matches. The club is also producing its first three drop-in trays. The first will move to the main square in 2028 after a spell on the nursery ground. Unlike the seasonal drop-ins used at multi-purpose grounds in Australia, MCC will keep these in place on a long-term basis. ### What's Next for Lord's Lord's stages two men's Tests a year under an agreement that runs until 2031. Next summer it will host England against Bangladesh from May 28 to June 1 and England against Australia from June 30 to July 4. The ICC has chosen The Oval, not Lord's, to host the 2027 World Test Championship final. The other two Tests at Lord's this season, England women against India and England men against Pakistan, received satisfactory ratings for their pitches. The four limited-overs internationals, which comprised three women's T20 World Cup matchdays and an England men's ODI against India, received very good ratings. As Nicholas put it, the goal is simple: "ensure that the club prepares pitches worthy of the ground's reputation." For a venue with Lord's history, that bar is about as high as it gets.