When he speaks, you listen. When he offers his careful assessment of a cricketing situation, you understand the nuances of it and focus on what he says. Few orators of the game cover the insightful sport
that cricket is with such clarity and precision as a certain Nasser Hussain. But the former England captain isn’t the happiest man about time and perhaps ditto for Ben Stokes. So, what seems to be the reason?
Well, in no uncertain terms does Hussain believe that the present wicket on display at the iconic Lord's stadium is a sort of wicket that could best be described as "substandard" and simply "not good enough" for Test cricket.
And what makes the right handed former batter say so? That’s after no less than 33 wickets fell inside just two days during England's first Test of the summer against New Zealand. And it was a hammering of epic proportions for the batters.
What is usually a happy hunting ground for the hosts England has turned into a bit of a sordid affair. And just what makes one say that? Well, it’s not too hard to understand why.
The Ben Stokes’ led England Test team have been able to set a target of only 218 to their opponents- New Zealand.
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On plain and simple terms, this should in no way seem all that hard to reach. But what didn’t exactly fall into plans for the hosts was that the bounce offered by the pitch was utilised tremendously well by the Kiwis’s Nathan Smith. He would end up hammering England with the red ball in hand. But how so?
Well, not too hard to understand how or why. He took 6 wickets for just 70 runs as English batters failed to pile on the big runs needed to exert the pressure.
Now, here’s more on the current Lord’s wicket!
So what happens when there is no active cricketing action taking place and during that course of time that’s known as the off season. Well, here is what you ought to note-
During the off-season, it has been reported that the grounds grounds staff present at the celebrated Lord's venue haven’t been at all sitting idle. As a matter of fact they have been really attempting to revitalise the pitch. That’s been done by relaying the outfield and blowing 200°C steam onto the wicket.
Now, the process of steamrolling on the wicket was a process that was basically utilised to fundamentally kill off pathogens- as a report from Sky shared- and the same was done to sort of revitalise the soil under the square.
But it’s been noted and in no uncertain terms whatsoever that the wicket has played out to be a bit slow. So what this has done is that it has caused the ball to move a bit sideways. Of course, England's bowlers have been found to utilise the bounce which has meant that it has left the visiting New Zealand side simply scrambling at stumps on day 2 of the five day affair. They lost 3 wickets whilst scoring only 36 runs. Yes, no more than 36 runs. That’s about it.
And the sordid sort of scenario has earned the scathing remarks of critics who witness and love Test cricket closely and dearly.
Delivering his scathing criticism of the Lord’s cricket ground wicket on which the first test match between New Zealand and England is currently taking place, the former English cricket captain happened to highlight the exact predicament and just what it meant in terms of shaping the ensuing action.
He would offer his piece of mind in no uncertain terms by sharing the following:
“High-quality bowling is on display from both teams, but it's on a substandard pitch - and it has been for quite some time. This famous old ground is hosting its 150th Test match and is scheduled to stage three Tests this year. It's a venue that 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 grounds staff know it lacks pace, offers variable bounce and seams when there is cloud cover. They put a dome over it, they have tried steaming it, but nothing has made a difference!”
