Lord's digs up Pitch Nine amid pitch-action overhaul
Work began earlier this month to remove Pitch Nine from the square at Lord's, with groundstaff excavating one of the venue's central strips after ongoing concerns about the playing surface.
Pitch Nine is one of 20 strips across the square and one of five central pitches used for high-profile matches; it was the surface for England's Test against New Zealand in June, a game in which Jacob Bethell was bowled by a ball that shot along the ground and which would have finished inside two days but for bad weather. England captain Ben Stokes said the surface does not benefit Test cricket and it was rated as 'unsatisfactory' by the International Cricket Council, leaving Lord's with a demerit point on its record.
Lord's history of pitch criticism predates that Test: the surfaces used for the men's Tests against Ireland in 2019, New Zealand in 2021 and Australia in 2023, plus a women's one-day international against India in 2022, were all rated 'average' under the ICC's previous system, and the venue has frequently been criticised for producing slow, low pitches. The Marylebone Cricket Club said in February that the "square must be at the forefront of the club's priorities" and set out a seven-point "pitch action plan" in the summer that included bringing in external experts.
Over a five-day operation this month, Pitch Nine was dug up and the 22-yard hole filled with a base layer of gravel; the area has been rolled and tended by groundstaff and fresh soil added on top, and it now looks little different to the surrounding square. Those works represent a further step beyond the external reviews already commissioned by the club, according to reporting cited by Cricinfo.
In a letter to members, MCC chair Mark Nicholas warned that "we should all be braced for the scheduling challenges" the pitch works will bring, with Pitch Nine out of action until 2029 at the earliest and the loss of one of Lord's main TV pitches. Major matches listed for next year include the second men's Ashes Test in late June, a women's Ashes one-day international in July, a men's Test against Bangladesh in May, and a men's ODI in September.
To cope with reduced availability, Lord's has accelerated work on hybrid and drop-in options: the ground already has two hybrid pitches where synthetic fibres are mixed with grass and a third will be added to the square in the spring; hybrids are not currently allowed in Test cricket but are permitted in white-ball internationals and domestic cricket and can be revitalised and reused more quickly than natural surfaces. After Nicholas said earlier this year drop-ins could be used as early as 2028, the first trays will be introduced to the Nursery Ground in the coming weeks.
Nicholas told members: "The work now underway represents the most comprehensive review of the square and pitch preparation at Lord's in a generation," adding, "While these changes will take time to deliver their full benefit, they will help to ensure that the club prepares pitches worthy of the ground's reputation." Lord's next international fixture is the men's Test between England and Bangladesh starting on 28 May, a match that will take place while the club implements these changes.
