James Anderson was not helped by the flat field of Edgbaston. The Ashes have received a significant boost as the MCC work to make Lord's field faster.
Stuart Broad and James Anderson have criticized Edgbaston's 'spineless' field as England lost a stunning match by two rounds. . Broad called it «soulless», while Anderson said in his Telegraph Sport column that it was «kryptonite» and that he «did it» with Ashes if other fields were similar.
But seasoned bowlers should find Lord's surface more to their liking in Ash's second test, according to MCC. Jamie Cox, a former Tasmanian and Somerset batsman who is now the MCC's Assistant Secretary for Cricket and Operations, says Lord's groundskeeper Carl McDermott was looking for faster coverage.
During the winter, McDermott carried out what Cox called «a pretty significant repair», removing 10mm of topsoil and replacing with new grass to speed up the passage of the fields. The field against Ireland was, in the opinion of the British, an improvement on what they had played in the homeland of cricket in recent years.
«It will be a field similar to the test match in Ireland,» Cox told Code Sports. “It has just passed. It wasn't fast, but it was easy to score. It was a good field to play in when the sun shone. It's always said here to look up, not down. So if the clouds clear, the game will speed up. Batting will be fun on nice sunny days.”
When asked if it would be faster than Edgbaston, he replied: “I think a little. Well, that's what we want.
“We want a little more speed and portability. Our biggest battle here is to always pick up speed and carry. It's just not a fast bouncing surface.
“There’s always something for bowlers with overhead and slope and all. Historically, it doesn't spin much. But it'll do if you have four or five hot days.»
The test field will be leveled this morning, 5 days left #cricket #ashes #TheAshes #lords pic .twitter.com/kPHegR9E2Z
— Karl McDermott (@Karl_McDermott) June 23, 2023
This should be good news for Anderson and Broad, the top English testers of all time. Australia's second innings at Edgbaston was the first since Ben Stokes and Brandon McCallum had taken over when they failed to beat an opponent, showing how difficult it was for them.
Stokes requested «flat, fast pitches for the Ashes, but a combination of recent hot weather and Edgbaston's characteristic lack of pace has led to criticism of the coverage.
England are vying to be the first team to win the Ashes 1-0 since Michael Vaughan. legendary team of 2005.
«How can I be polite [on the pitch]?» Broad said on the second day in Edgbaston. «It's a very slow, low surface that sucks the energy out of the ball.
«So far it's pretty spineless, pretty soulless, but you can only judge the surface towards the end of the match and see how it develops.»
Anderson wrote in his Telegraph Sport column on Thursday: “This field was like kryptonite to me. There was no backswing, no backswing, no seam, no bounce, no tempo. Over the years, I tried to hone my skills to play in any conditions, but everything I tried made no difference. I felt like I was fighting an uphill battle.
“This is a long streak and hopefully I can contribute at some point, but if all pitches are like this, then with the Ashes streak, I the end.”< /p>
The players from England spent a couple of days at home, but will join them in London on Sunday. They will be contemplating the right attack for the surface, with Mark Wood able to come in while Rehan Ahmed joined the squad as cover for Moen Ali.
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