MCC taking action over Lord's pitch after 'reputational blow'

Lord's pitch was rated 'unsatisfactory' and given demerit point after second-shortest Test match in ground's history earlier this summer; watch the third Test between England and Pakistan, at Edgbaston, live on Sky Sports from Wednesday, September 9

The MCC has outlined an action plan to address concerns over the pitch at Lord's, with it having been deemed "unsatisfactory" by the ICC.

Lord's was handed one demerit point under the ICC's Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process after the staging of its 150th Test match between England and New Zealand earlier this summer proved to be the ground's second-shortest on record at 165 overs and two-and-a-half days' action.

The playing surface was back under the spotlight this week, with stats showing that there was actually more movement on offer for bowlers during England's 194-run victory over Pakistan than in the prior Test against New Zealand.

"'Unsatisfactory' was how this pitch was rated after the New Zealand Test match. I have to say, after three days of this Test match, it is 'unsatisfactory' again," Sky Sports Cricket 's Nasser Hussain said ahead of the match's conclusion on Sunday, day four of the Test.

"For two days, I thought it did less than that New Zealand game. But yesterday, because of the cloud cover, drizzle and lights being on, this pitch misbehaved.

"If you compare the stats from the New Zealand game to this one, the movement during the New Zealand game was around 0.7 degrees. Including yesterday [Saturday], it went up to 0.85 degrees for this Test.

"In the history of having these stats, that's the most movement we have ever seen in any pitch in the UK."

MCC ground staff worked hard in the off-season to try and bring the pitch up to Test standard, relaying the outfield and even blowing 200°C steam on the wicket, in a bid to kill pathogens in the soil.

They had hoped the measures would revitalise the ageing wicket, but the MCC has now released a new action plan in the hope of addressing concerns, which includes the introduction of drop-in pitches.

Former England and Middlesex cricketer Eoin Morgan detailed the plans further, telling Sky Sports Cricket : "It's something the MCC and Lord's take very seriously.

"The ground has taken a reputational blow when it comes to Test cricket this year. It is not two isolated events, either. When it comes to red-ball cricket, things become very challenging.

"The MCC has taken on all of the feedback following the New Zealand Test. They have put together an action plan in which there are a number of steps to try and improve things going forward.

"The MCC is committed to investing financially in getting informed analysis to make this better. There's pitch relaying which will be staged on the TV pitches and permanent drop-in pitches that will be prepared on the Nursery Ground.