Lord’s pitch not ideal, Black Caps and England captains say
New Zealand captain Tom Latham, after being dismissed on day two of the first test defeat to England at Lord’s 2026
Photo: NEWS IMAGES
Pointed post-match remarks from both captains are throwing the spotlight on cricket administrators, following England’s victory over the Black Caps in the first test at Lord’s.
England won by 115 runs, as they dismissed New Zealand for just 138 on the fourth day, fully exploiting the erratic bounce and lateral movement of the pitch, which had been evident from the opening session on the first day, which saw 16 wickets fall.
Only rain interruptions, especially on day three, prolonged the game to a fourth day, which was the 150th test at the home of cricket
Black Caps captain Tom Latham says while playing at Lord’s is always “a great week”, for the game to play out like it did was unfortunate.
“We certainly didn’t think the wicket was going to play like that from a duration point of view,” he said.
“There’s been under two full days of cricket played on that surface … it wasn’t ideal.
“We saw a lot of guys getting hit on the gloves today, which to me just shows that there’s not necessarily the trust on the surface where you’re able to trust the length that the bowlers are bowling which keeps guys caught on the crease,” said Latham.
England skipper Ben Stokes was also forthright after the match.
England’s captain Ben Stokes bowls on the fourth day of the first cricket test against New Zealand at Lord’s, June 7, 2026
Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS
“The game is played over five days. Without the weather, it wouldn’t even have finished on day four. As someone who believes test cricket should never disappear, that (early finish) is not ideal,” Stokes said.
“It is tough for groundsmen. They are not actively producing wickets that are tricky, with 16 wickets falling in a day.
“But I get asked all the time about what needs to happen, saving test cricket and this, that and the other. When you see extreme conditions like that, that’s not going to help the game in the future,” he said.
The comments from both captains has forced the Marylebone Cricket Club, the owners of Lord’s and guardians of cricket’s laws, to issue a rare public apology, with a wicket tumbling every 25 balls on average.
“We recognise that the pitch for this test has shown more variable bounce than we would have wanted,” said MCC chief executive Rob Lawson.
“We hold ourselves to the highest standards and are naturally frustrated when a surface falls short of those expectations,” he said.
Interest now switches to ICC match referee Andy Pycroft, who will reveal next week whether the pitch offered “an even contest between bat and ball”. If not, the surface must be deemed “unsatisfactory” and Lord’s will be given one demerit point in line with the ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process.
For the the Black Caps though, their focus now must switch to the second test at The Oval starting on 17 June.
Latham is picking the surface will be completely different.
“The Oval can be a lovely place to bat so I’m sure the batters will be out hoping it will be like that,” he said.