Lord's receives ICC demerit point after 'unsatisfactory' ENG vs NZ Test surface

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has penalised two venues after rating the surfaces used for the opening Test match of the 2025-27 World Test Championship Cycle at Lord's and the third ODI between Pakistan and Australia at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium as "unsatisfactory". As an outcome, both venues have been given one demerit point under the ICC's Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

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The Lord's pitch faced harsh criticism after the first Test between England and New Zealand came to an end in just four days, despite several weather interruptions on Day Three. The game marked the venue's 150th Test match, and turned out to be the first game at Lord's in 138 years to feature fewer than 1,000 legal deliveries, with batters struggling to score runs because of inconsistent bounce throughout the clash. After the backlash, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) also issued an apology over the condition of the pitch.

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“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," said Pycroft in a statement.

On the other hand, the Pitch at Gaddafi Stadium, which hosted the third ODI match between Pakistan and Australia, also seemed to be unsatisfactory after producing a low-scoring clash in which batters struggled for consistent shot making. Match referee Graeme La Brooy mentioned that the pitch was not good enough for one-day cricket because of the difficulty of scoring runs and the assistance extracted by the spinners in the initial stage.

“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."

After the ICC's examination, both venues have been given one demerit point each, which will remain on their records as part of the governing body's pitch and outfield monitoring process.