The £4m hole Lord’s have dug after ‘steaming’ their pitch

LORD’S — The decision to steam the Lord’s square might end up costing the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) £4m in lost revenue if, as seems certain, the first Test of the summer finishes inside three days.

After a chaotic 16-wicket opening day between England and New Zealand, another 10 had fallen by tea on Friday to leave this contest all but over heading into the weekend.

Despite overcast conditions throughout, it is an up-and-down pitch showing uneven bounce and lavish sideways movement that has drawn the ire of commentators and onlookers.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan said after day one: “I don’t think it’s a good pitch. The MCC would be the first to admit that something is not quite right with this square.”

After England’s Jacob Bethell was bowled by a Matt Henry delivery early on the second afternoon that barely reached ankle height, ex-England spinner Phil Tufnell responded: “That’s an absolute pea-roller. Good luck playing that, it rolled along. It’s a poor pitch.”

Meanwhile on Sky Sports, Ian Ward lamented “unfair batting conditions”.

There has been an issue with the square that houses pitches for major matches at Lord’s for a while, with last year’s England vs India Test match a low-scoring thriller but one that at least saw both teams make 387 in their first innings.

This time, it looks even worse. So could the steaming of the Lord’s square last October be the reason why the surface has been even more unpredictable this summer?

The process, carried out by sports turf contractor Fineturf, sees the treated area exposed to 200-degree Celsius heat. It is designed to kill off weeds and other pathogens while also helping to rejuvenate the soil underneath and aid bounce and carry.

Speaking on Sky Sports, former England batter Mark Butcher explained: “What it is supposed to do is purify the soil underneath. They had a real problem with infection on the square.”

On the basis of what’s happened at Lord’s this week, it doesn’t appear to have worked.

Yet there is no evidence directly linking the treatment to how the pitch for this match is playing, with the recent hot weather and rain over the past week possibly affecting it.

In any case, if this match does finish early, the MCC, who earn around £1.5m-£2m from each day of Test cricket at Lord’s, will be left counting the cost regardless of the reasons.

As for the pitch? The final word can be left to Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, who was in no mood to hold back when talking about the surface on Sky Sports. “High-quality bowling is on display from both teams, but it’s on a sub-standard pitch – and it has been for quite some time,” he said.

“This famous old ground is hosting its 150th Test match and is scheduled to stage three Tests this year. It’s a venue that usually blends the old and the new so well, but ultimately it’s the 22 yards in the middle that matter.

“Everything has been tried to improve it as the groundstaff know it lacks pace, offers variable bounce and seams when there is cloud cover. They’ve put a dome over it, they’ve tried steaming it, but nothing has made a difference. Throughout, it has lacked pace, and when it does quicken up, it begins to misbehave even more.

“As a batter, there is nothing worse than uneven bounce, seam movement and the slope combined. With the quality of fast bowling on show, it makes batting impossible.”