'Very, very flat': Former England batter and umpire gives insight into IND vs ENG Manchester Test pitch, contradicts Ravi Shastri and others' assessment

The speculation surrounding the nature of the pitch for the fourth Test match at Old Tafford, Manchester has intensified. With first three Tests of Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 spanning over five days, former India head coach Ravi Shastri and former England cricketers Michael Vaughan, Alastair Cook, David Lloyd and Phil Tufnell talked about the pitch for fourth Test.

In a podcast, Stick To Cricket, Ravi Shastri said, “This pitch will have more bounce than others from what one’s heard. If the weather is not that hot…” before proceeding to ask Lloyd.

Lloyd thinks the opposite about the pitch, “Very, very flat. No pace, no grass.”

Michael Vaughan chipped in saying, “The pace has gone since Old Trafford… (changed the axis).”

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Lloyd noted, “I’m not saying they’re worried (in these parts, about the loss of sting in the pitch), but they understand that pace has gone out of the pitch…. it could spin…The footmarks are there.”

He commented that county matches are increasingly becoming batting-friendly, with many games now lasting five days.

“The county matches, you could play day after day after day. It becomes an absolute slab. Rock hard.”

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While the 77-year-old acknowledged the possibility of some assistance for seamers, he believed that there won't be much pace on offer.

“There might be a bit of moisture in the beginning with all the rain. We’ve had some real thunderstorms recently. But the drainage seems to have sapped all the energy off the pitch. There won't be any pace. Not from what I’ve seen. I’ve been to every game at Old Trafford,” Llloyd said.

He jokingly coined a new term, “It becomes a corporate pitch. It will go five days.”

Shastri talked about how Indian batters have enjoyed batting on batting-friendly pitches in England for a better part of the tour.

No Test wins in Manchester for India

India don't have a good record in Manchester. In nine Test appearances, India have never won a single match. If India are to stay alive in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, they need to end the long-running drought in Manchester.