Lord’s is considering hosting a Test match on a drop-in pitch as early as 2029. The idea is part of a radical response to the problem of tired and lifeless surfaces at the home of cricket.
Officials of the Marylebone Cricket Club, the custodian of the laws of cricket, believe it to be the most practical way of coping with fixture congestion. They also see it as an answer to the growing criticism about lack of pace the Lord’s square is facing.
A drop-in pitch is a prepared pitch that is made somewhere else and then transported into the stadium and “dropped in” before a match. The pitch is grown in trays or slabs (often clay-based soil) at a specialist facility or elsewhere inside the cricket venue. After the match, it can be removed, repaired, and reused.
Drop-in pitches are becoming increasingly popular. First tested in Australia, the concept was also adopted for the ICC T-20 in the US. More recently, the Wanderes venue in Johannesburg also installed such system.
MCC Director of cricket and operations Rob Lynch said: “It would be irresponsible not to try to innovate.”