Controversy has bubbled during the first Test at Lord's between England and New Zealand, after 26 wickets fell during the first five sessions of play, sparking speculation over whether the pitch could come under the scrutiny of the ICC.
After New Zealand elected to bowl first, England were bowled out for 140 in fewer than 40 overs on day one – their lowest home total of the Bazball era. Harry Brook was the only batter to make it past 20, as the Black Caps seam attack ran riot. Jamie Smith was bowled leaving a ball which nipped back in from Kyle Jamieson, while Ollie Robinson was caught-behind later in the day by a ball that kept low. Overhead conditions were perfect for bowling, overcast and thundery with play twice delayed for rain.
Following England's innings, New Zealand wickets also tumbled. Robinson took three wickets in his first over in Test cricket for two years, getting Devon Conway lbw playing down the wrong line, before getting Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra off the final two balls of his over. At the end of play, New Zealand were 61-6, 16 wickets having fallen in 59 overs.
The pitch came under more intense scrutiny on day two, however, midway through England's second innings. Josh Tongue had rattled through New Zealand in the morning session, before England reached 99-1 with relative ease. But, Jacob Bethell's wicket sparked alarm bells, when he was castled by a ball that kept very low from Matt Henry. "What can you do with that, absolutely nothing," said Mel Jones on Sky Sports commentary. "It will make New Zealand a little bit nervous for their fourth innings."
Stuart Broad replied: "I don't think there was anything Jacob Bethell could do about this... The ball has just rolled along the floor."
What are the ICC regulations for pitch penalties?
The ICC divide pitches into four different categories: Very Good, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, and Unfit. The final two of those carry points penalties – the 'unfit' criteria is only used if a pitch is dangerous, so does not apply to the Lord's pitch.
The criteria for an 'Unsatisfactory' pitch rating is described as "a pitch that does not allow an even contest between bat and ball... By favouring the bowlers too much, with too many wicket-taking opportunities for either seam or spin."
The Melbourne pitch for the fourth Ashes Test in December last year was the most recent Test surface to receive an 'Unsatisfactory rating', after it concluded in under two days. In his ruling, ICC match referee Jeff Crowe said: "The MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers. With 20 wickets falling on the first day, 16 on the second day and no batter even reaching a half-century, the pitch was ‘Unsatisfactory’ as per the guidelines and the venue gets one demerit point."
There are some parallels to the MCG surface in the game at Lord's, with wickets falling at a faster rate on day one at Lord's than on day one at Melbourne. Twenty wickets fell in just over 77 overs on day one in Melbourne, a rate of a wicket every 3.85 overs, while 16 fell in just under 60 at Lord's, an average of a wicket every 3.68 overs.
Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, Michael Vaughan said: "From what I've seen, on that pitch today there's certainly been a number of balls where, you know, we've seen snick offs and we've seen a lot of LBWs where the players have been kind of on the front foot playing the forward defence, and the ball's just thudded into the pads. That tells you that the pitch is a little bit inconsistent in terms of bounce... I don't think it's a good pitch. I think the MCC would be the first to admit that there's something not quite right with the square at Lord's. It's been an issue now for a few years. The Test match against India last year was a brilliant game and a great finish to a Test match, but the pitch wasn't great."
The India Test match last year saw both teams rolled out for under 200 in their second innings', although it was rated as 'Satisfactory' by the ICC. The criteria for a 'Satisfactory' rating is determined in relation to the criteria for a 'Very Good' rating. To be rated 'Very Good' a pitch must have: "Good carry, limited seam movement, consistent good bounce early in the match, acceptable amount of turn early in the game, natural wear that is responsive to spin later in the game". A 'Satisfactory' rating "falls significantly short of 'Very Good' with respect to carry, bounce or spin."
The World Test Championship Final was also played at Lord's last year, and saw 14 wickets fall on each of the first two days. Speaking at the time, Pat Cummins described the pitch as "pretty close to 50-50" in balance between bat and ball, and the pitch for that game was rated as 'Very Good'.
If the pitch for the ongoing Test at Lord's is rated as 'Unsatisfactory', the venue will receive one demerit point, which will stay on its record for a rolling five-year period. If a ground receives six demerit points, it will be banned from hosting international cricket for 12 months. Lord's currently has no demerit points on its record.
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