The Ashes 2023: Lord's Cricket Ground, London pitch history and Test records
The Lord's Cricket Ground will host its second Test of the 2023 English summer from tomorrow (June 28) onwards. It is the second match of the Ashes series between England and Australia.
Home team England currently trail 0-1 in the five-match ICC World Test Championship series against Australia. The Ben Stokes-led outfit will aim to return to the winning track when they host the Aussies at the Mecca of Cricket this week.
Before the second match of the Ashes series begins, here's a look at the pitch history of the Lord's Cricket Ground.
Lord's Cricket Ground, London Test records & stats
The pitch in London helps the batters and the bowlers equally. The conditions have been good for batting initially, but as the match progresses, scoring runs becomes a bit of a challenge. However, it is pertinent to note that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has decided to prepare flat tracks for this Ashes series.
Hence, there is a possibility of a batting-friendly surface being offered for the second Ashes Test match. Ireland recently battled England in a Test at this venue, and in that game, Ollie Pope aggregated 205 runs off just 208 balls.
On that note, here are some vital stats you need to know from previous Tests played at this iconic venue in London.
Test matches played: 144
Matches won by teams batting first: 51
Matches won by teams batting second: 42
Matches Drawn: 51
Highest individual score: 333 - Graham Gooch (ENG) vs. India, 1990
Best bowling figures (innings): 8/34 - Ian Botham (ENG) vs. Pakistan, 1978
Best bowling figures (match): 16/137 - Robert Massie (AUS) vs. England, 1972
Highest team score: 729/6 dec - Australia vs. England, 1930
Lowest team score: 38 - Ireland vs. England, 2019
Average first-innings score: 310
Lord's Cricket Ground, London Pitch report
The pitch report for the second Ashes Test match will be broadcast a few minutes before the toss takes place. A flat pitch should be on offer for this match because England prefer scoring heaps of runs with the bat.
England have also named their playing XI for this match, and they have decided against playing with a frontline spinner. This could be a hint that the spinners may not receive any help from the surface at Lord's.
Lord's Cricket Ground, London last Test match
England crushed Ireland by 10 wickets in the last Test match on this ground earlier this month. Stuart Broad's five-wicket haul helped England bowl Ireland out for just 172 runs in the first innings. In reply, Ollie Pope's double hundred and Ben Duckett's 178-ball 182 guided England to 524/4 dec.
Ireland managed to avoid an innings defeat but they could not stop England from winning the Test by 10 wickets.
Brief Scores: Ireland 172 (James McCollum 36, Stuart Broad 5/51) & 362 (Mark Adair 88, Joshua Tongue 5/66) lost to England 524/4 dec (Ollie Pope 205*, Andy McBrine 2/99) & 12/0 (Zak Crawley 12*) by 10 wickets.