England’s players hated Lord’s pitch – so it was ripped up in pursuit of ‘Bazball’ perfection

When Ben Stokes demanded “fast and flat” pitches for the Ashes the message was heard at Lord’s, where surfaces have been slow in recent years and not popular with the England team.

Karl McDermott, the Lord’s groundsman, relaid the square over the winter and MCC are now confident they can deliver the surfaces that will help England play their ‘Bazball’ style of attacking cricket.

England were bowled out for 165 in 45 overs on a green seaming pitch at Lord’s by South Africa last summer and they were critical of the pace in the surface after a one-dayer against India, even though they won the match by 100 runs, because they felt unable to play their shots.

The men’s and women’s Hundred finals last year were both close, tense games, but low scoring, which goes against the modern white-ball style of play. The 2019 World Cup final is remembered as one of the greatest cricket matches of all time, but it was a turgid pitch that produced a low-scoring thriller.

McDermott stripped off the top layer of the pitch at the end of the 2022 season, removing 10mm of topsoil, and relaid with new grass over the winter, and MCC believe they can give Stokes what he wants both this week against Ireland and for the showpiece Ashes Test in June.

“It was easy for an ex-cricketer like me to assess the conditions and say play accordingly,” says Jamie Cox, the MCC head of cricket and former opener for Tasmania and Somerset. “But players today want to know they can play on a nice true surface, hit through the line and trust the pace, and that is what crowds come to see. We took the approach that it was our duty to try to prepare something that suits them.

“Karl did a pretty significant renovation. He took off the top layer. In his language, 95 per cent of the grassward disappeared off the surface. He stripped it right back and started afresh. We looked at our one-day pitches last year and they had a clumpy, old grass which I think made them sluggish and the seam grip.

“I use the analogy when batting you want to play a checked drive and know it is not going to go through midwicket, but I was watching batters last year and they did not trust the ability to punch drive.

‘Pace is relative, we are not going to be the Gabba’

“Our goal with this renovation is that our one-day pitches will be faster, truer and more batter friendly. In a Test match or four-day sense our goal is always to see the ball go through. Pace is relative. We are not going to be the Gabba, but as long as the ball is getting through at waist height to the keeper for anyone who is bowling at 80mph, then you know the surface is going to be good.”

England know fast and flat is not really possible in England and there is only so much a groundsman can do to change the natural conditions of a venue, particularly if this is a wet summer.

Brendon McCullum explained the fast and flat line this week, defining it as taking luck with the toss out of the equation, which is why England felt they were mugged at Lord’s by South Africa last year.

“When you say ‘fast, flat’, I think it’s just that you don’t want a snakepit is the theory,” the head coach said. “I’m guessing that what Stokesy was saying is that he wants to back his team versus the other team, based on skill rather than bringing the luck component into it.”

Rob Key, the England team director, met with MCC last year to explain the kind of surfaces he believes the game needs if Test cricket is to survive, and his team prosper.

“I’ve had chats with Rob. He is pretty relaxed but my commitment was we will try and give you something which is not flat but consistent, true and give them the ability to play the way they want to play,” Cox says.

“I don’t think Australia would ask anything different, not that we will ring them to find out.”