England vs New Zealand: Lord's pitch rated 'unsatisfactory' and given demerit point after second shortest Test match in ground's history

The Lord's pitch used for England's first Test victory over New Zealand has been rated as "unsatisfactory", with the venue handed one demerit point under the ICC's Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

Lord's 150th Test match was the ground's second shortest on record, lasting 165 overs in total. Thirty-three wickets fell inside the first two days, with England's Harry Brook and Emilio Gay the only two players to bring up half-centuries.

The MCC apologised afterwards for the condition of the pitch, adding it will "act quickly" to rectify the issue after receiving criticism for the wicket's uneven bounce during England's 115-run win.

In a statement released after England took a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series against New Zealand, an MCC spokesperson said: "We recognise the pitch for this Test has shown more variable bounce than we would have wanted.

"We hold ourselves to the highest standards and are naturally frustrated when a surface falls short of those expectations."

MCC grounds staff have worked hard in the off-season to try and bring the pitch up to Test standard, relaying the outfield and even blowing 200°C steam on the wicket, in a bid to kill pathogens in the soil.

They had hoped the measures would revitalise the ageing wicket, but concerns were raised that the wicket was not conducive to the Test format.

Match Referee Andy Pycroft submitted a report expressing the concerns of the match officials and the captains.

"There was plenty of excessive seam movement throughout the Test and the ball also kept extremely low on several occasions," Pycroft said of the Lord's surface.

"The bounce was variable throughout as 16 wickets fell on the first day and 17 on the second. There was simply an over-balance in favour of ball against bat caused by the pitch."

The report has been forwarded to the ECB, who have 14 days to appeal against the sanction. Lord's has no previous demerit points.

The Gaddafi Stadium pitch in Lahore was also rated as "unsatisfactory" and given one demerit point for the third ODI between Pakistan and Australia played on June 4, in which the hosts won by four wickets after bowling Australia out for 157.

If a venue receives six demerit points over a five year period it will be suspended from hosting international cricket matches for a year.