MCC apologises for Lord’s Test pitch after Stokes criticises ‘extreme conditions’

• England win but fewer than 1,000 legal balls bowled

• MCC says it is ‘naturally frustrated’

The MCC has apologised for the quality of the Lord’s pitch prepared for the opening game of the series against New Zealand, after the https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/03/three-lords-of-london-150-tests-at-crickets-grand-complicated-citadel">venue’s showpiece 150th Test became its first since 1888 to feature fewer than 1,000 legal deliveries.

England wrapped up victory over the tourists by 115 runs shortly before lunch on the fourth day.

But for the frequent and lengthy interruptions for rain it would have ended on the second.

Ben Stokes also criticised “extreme conditions” that “are not going to help the game”, with unpredictable bounce and prodigious movement off the seam leading to the breaking of the English record for the most batters being dismissed either lbw or bowled, with only two half-centurions and just nine of the 40 innings lasting 20 balls or more.