Lord's pitch does not benefit Test cricket, Stokes says after England beat New Zealand

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Lord's pitch does not benefit Test format - Stokes Figure caption, Analysis - Alison Mitchell, Michael Vaughan and Phil Tufnell discuss Lord's pitchByStephan Shemilt Cricket Correspondent at Lord'sPublished45 minutes agoEngland captain Ben Stokes said the Lord's pitch on which his side won the first Test against New Zealand is not helpful for the future of the game's longest format. The home side began their post-Ashes rebuild by beating the Black Caps by 115 runs before lunch on the fourth day. On a surface that was incredibly difficult for batting, the match would have been concluded inside two days had it not been for bad weather.

The 166 overs it took to complete the Test makes it the second-shortest to produce a positive result in the 150 matches held at Lord's, while it was the third-shortest at any ground when all 40 wickets have fallen. "From someone who loves Test cricket, is that something that will benefit Test cricket? I don't think so," Stokes told Test Match Special.

The Details

"But nobody's doing it on purpose. It's a tough job to be a groundsman. "Remarkable Tongue is England's premier bowler - Agnew Published13 minutes ago'Comebacks don't get much better' - first Test ratings Published2 hours agoEngland begin Ashes rebuild with win over NZ Published3 hours agoThe rapid nature of the first Test against New Zealand was in keeping with a recent trend of matches involving England.

The first and fourth Ashes Tests in Australia were both completed inside two days. "I get asked questions all the time about longevity of this format, people even talk about saving Test cricket, which for me is a bit far," said Stokes. "The game is played over five days and without a little bit of weather this wouldn't have finished on day four.

"For someone who believes Test cricket should be the best format and should never disappear, that's not ideal from that point of view. "In damp conditions at Lord's, with the match often played under grey skies and floodlights, the ball moved sideways throughout. The challenge for batters was compounded by some alarming uneven bounce from early in the match.

What Experts Say

In England's second innings, both Jacob Bethell and Jamie Smith were bowled by deliveries that kept low. All 40 wickets in the match fell to seam bowlers - this was the first completed Test to be played in England since 1988 where neither side opted for a single delivery of spin bowling. Former England captain Michael Vaughan said he "felt sorry" for the batters involved, while chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew said the pitch was "really poor".

Figure caption, Vaughan explains why wickets are falling at Lord'sIn response to the criticism of the pitch, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), owners of Lord's, admitted the surface had fallen short of expectations. "We recognise that the pitch for this Test has shown more variable bounce than we would have wanted," said MCC chief executive and secretary Rob Lawson.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.