England v New Zealand: Michael Vaughan ‘feels sorry’ for batters on sub-standard Lord’s pitch
This is not the first time a Lord’s speech has been questioned in recent years.
Questions were also raised in the 2025 World Test Championship final after 14 wickets fell in the first two days.
By contrast, just a month later England and India played a thrilling five-day Test, although this year’s pitch could see the match over in three days.
The batsmen’s struggles were exemplified by a delivery from New Zealand seamer Matt Henry that bounced just above ankle height and was thrown to the stumps, giving England’s Jacob Bethell no chance.
BBC chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew said: “This is a really bad shot. It’s not the standard delivery you’d expect from a Lord’s Test and they need to do something about it.”
“You can’t keep playing in this particular lane and it’s going to cost them a lot of money.
“The bounce is uneven, there is a lot of stitching movement. It cuts quickly. This [Jacob] The Bethell delivery was simply unplayable. “This is not a venue suitable for Test cricket.”
Speaking to Sky Sports, former England captain Nasser Hussain added: “His pace was poor but when he accelerates he starts to misbehave upwards.
“As a batsman, nothing is worse than bouncing up and down. Then you have to take into account seam movement and pitch, it becomes impossible to bat.
“There’s a lot on this ground, but the middle part is the most important part and right now it’s not good enough.”
There is little time for significant changes to be made this summer, with the women’s test between England and India taking place in July before the men’s team returns to face Pakistan for five days in August.
But are the problems with the ground enough for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to consider moving Tests from Lord’s in the future while the pitch issues are sorted out?
Former New Zealand bowler Simon Doull told Sky Sports: “What would the ECB do if they have to dig up the field and start over? That would mean no cricket here for two years.”
“This is becoming an ECB issue. They need to join up with the MCC and say ‘Sorry, we’re going to take the games away from you because the pitch isn’t up to standard.’
“So the ECB won’t force the MCC to finish the job until it decides it will take action by taking Lord’s’ votes.
“The outfield is fantastic and I feel sorry for the grounds crew because they are working with a tired old grass block that is not conducive to anything they want to do.
“They are trying everything, the field staff are not weak. But they are working with a very poor surface and everything underneath it and that needs to be changed.”
