Lord’s will not host any cricket for 18 days during the build-up to the 2027 Ashes Test in a bid to avoid a repeat of the pitch problems that made headlines over the summer.

The groundstaff had only a clear 10 days before the first Test against New Zealand in June, when a surface of variable bounce was rated ‘unsatisfactory’ by the ICC, prompting a public apology from MCC and earning the venue an unprecedented demerit point.

There were also 10 days between finals day of the Hundred and the second Test against Pakistan in August, when the surface was rated ‘satisfactory’ – the second-highest of the four ratings.

The ECB want to ensure venues have between seven and nine clear days before hosting a Test next summer. 

But Lord’s officials are taking no chances when it comes to next summer’s high-profile second Test against Australia starting on June 30, and have given head groundsman Karl McDermott and his team what Rob Lynch, MCC’s director of cricket and operations, called ‘the best chance of producing the best pitch’.

MCC’s determination to deal with the slowness and inconsistency of their surfaces has produced a raft of bold measures, including the recent decision to dig up Pitch 9 – which hosted the New Zealand Test.

It is the first time in over 25 years that the home of cricket has taken such drastic action, taking the pitch out of action until 2029. The process involved digging down 12 inches, and replacing it with four inches of stabilising crushed granite, 20mm of porous matter and nearly eight inches of Ongar loam.

As Daily Mail Sport revealed earlier this year, MCC are also moving ahead with plans to instal three permanent drop-in pitches over the next few years, with a view to staging a domestic match on one of them in 2029, and international cricket the following summer. Each pitch should have a lifespan of 10-15 years.

With the Wormsley ground, an hour’s drive away up the M40, now bearing some of the Lord’s load, MCC plan to reduce the number of days’ cricket they host in 2027 from this year’s 63 to 55 or 56.