Lord’s pitch gets official rating verdict

The first ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 Test between England and New Zealand ended within four days despite severe rain disruption on Day Three and saw the sides lose 16 and 17 wickets respectively on Days 1 and 2. 

Now, the ICC have rated the surface as 'unsatisfactory' and the venue has received one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

In his report, match referee Andy Pycroft discussed the Lord's wicket.

"There was plenty of excessive seam movement throughout the Test and the ball also kept extremely low on several occasions. The bounce was variable throughout as 16 wickets fell on the first day and 17 on the second. There was simply an over-balance in favour of ball against bat caused by the pitch.”

Another pitch that received an 'unsatisfactory' rating was Pakistan's Gaddafi Stadium, which hosted the third ODI between Australia and Pakistan. 

It was tough to score runs in the low-scoring game and this proved to be the decisive factor in match referee Graeme La Brooy's report.

"The pitch was slow and low and made scoring runs very difficult. It did not suit a One Day International game as batters had to spend more time to settle in. It helped spin very early in the match and continued the same way throughout."