Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain have criticized the pitch at Lord’s for the first Test of the English summer between England and New Zealand.
The wicket has favored pace bowlers significantly while making it tough for batters. On the first day, a total of 16 wickets fell, and Day 2 saw another 17 wickets fall, with England setting a target of 254 runs for New Zealand.
New Zealand is currently three wickets down for 36 runs, needing 218 more to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Hussain spoke about the unpredictable bounce and seam movement of the pitch, which has made batting very difficult.
“Look at the very first delivery of the Test match, [which] rolled along the ground,” Hussain said on Sky Sports. “It has lacked pace throughout, and when it has sped up, it behaves erratically as well. For batters, nothing is worse than unpredictable bounce combined with seam movement and the slope.”
“Batting becomes impossible with the quality of fast bowling on display… The attention to detail at this ground is impressive, but the playing surface is not good enough right now.”
Vaughan echoed Hussain’s sentiments, calling for a fair contest between bat and ball.
“It’s not a challenge for the bowlers; it’s too easy… You want a fair balance. This pitch doesn’t provide that,” Vaughan told BBC’s Test Match Special.
“The MCC is aware that this pitch isn’t up to standard… I genuinely feel for the batters at the home of Cricket. This is the best place to play cricket, and I’m grateful I didn’t have to bat on many pitches like this,” he added.