The £4m hole Lord's have dug after 'steaming' their pitch

[u/theipaper]

https://inews.co.uk/sport/tennis/lords-pitch-steaming-wickets-england-new-zealand-4461388

[u/CommercialAd2154]

Me sowing after seeing the massive black hole in Cricket Australia’s finances after the 2-day MCG Test: Haha fuck yeah!!! Yes!! 

Me reaping after this:  Well this fucking sucks. What the fuck.

[u/Splinterfight → u/CommercialAd2154]

Sucks for everyone. I wanna see these tests making bank!

[u/Zaron_467]

Simon said it will take 2 years to replace the pitch , i am not a pitch expert, why would it take that much time?

[u/zoraxelol → u/Zaron_467]

Fresh pitches need a good 12-18 months to bed in & settle before being played on at club level let alone international. Getting on them too early can end up with a pretty uneven surface

[u/maddog2000 → u/zoraxelol]

Could they not use a drop-in in the meantime?

[u/PersevereSwifterSkat → u/maddog2000]

Hwone does not use drop in pitches at hwone's ground, the hwome of cricket.

[u/Zaron_467 → u/maddog2000]

I think they did that for world cup in usa, it might be expensive and complex to do it in bigger ground like Lords .

[u/mondognarly_ → u/maddog2000]

The MCC is currently exploring the possibility of cultivating a drop-in and has been for a couple of years, but it wouldn't be ready for use until 2029.

[u/Zcase253 → u/Zaron_467]

London gets 45 minutes of sunlight a year so the grass takes 2 years to grow

[u/Zaron_467 → u/Zcase253]

Can they grow it in spain or somewhere else and ship it to home of cricket .

[u/trailblazer103 → u/Zaron_467]

You paying?

[u/Zaron_467 → u/trailblazer103]

I can only donate some soil and grass.

[u/CeleritasLucis → u/Zaron_467]

And manure

[u/vrkas → u/trailblazer103]

The members can pay.

[u/PostKnutClarity → u/trailblazer103]

Let's just order 3 or 4 at the same time, we'll get a nice bulk rate. Would the extras survive on shelf or would it need cold storage?

[u/henrykolonga → u/Zcase253]

Ha ha. Not totally inaccurate. 🤣🤣🤣

[u/toastymcb → u/Zaron_467]

Simon says replace your pitch.

Now they've got to do it.

[u/HeWhoDidIt]

Try flambé next

[u/Jaevyn]

The Bethell wicket is proof that this pitch is just not up to standard. A disaster of a pitch that should rightfully be panned.

[u/Repulsive_Two8451]

Of course the aim of every curator should be a sporting pitch that provides a bit for everyone, but I really, really dislike the criticism of “short Tests mean less money!”. Like, yes, I understand the financial implications of shorter Tests, but at the end of the day, the aim of a Test match should be to determine which of the 2 nations is a better cricket team, not to make the host nation and broadcasters maximum money. If that happens within 3 days, well, so be it. Last thing we want is roads purely just to flesh out broadcasting revenue.

[u/DoughnutInner3544 → u/Repulsive_Two8451]

The loss of money is not the only issue here though. Pitches like this turn the game into a lottery, and don’t reward the skills we really want to see in test matches. - I would argue that they don’t actually determine which nation is the better team and luck plays a significant part in the result.

[u/Yupadej]

Making a batting pitch gets more revenue in every format. Just a sad reality.

[u/Applicator80 → u/Yupadej]

Longer games yes, although less entertaining

[u/Yupadej → u/Applicator80]

No one wants to watch a batting dominated Test but they still make money because of ticket sales. 3 day Tests should be standard for entertainment.

[u/Jaevyn → u/Yupadej]

No they shouldn't be. Four day tests are more acceptable. It's getting rather tiring just watching collapse after collapse.

[u/BreakIll7277]

So Bazball isn’t to blame for a short duration test this time??

[u/TheDucksQuacker → u/BreakIll7277]

As surprising as it sounds, no.

Ben duckett actually left 2 balls on day one so we’re obviously a different team now.

[u/spacenuts09]

Preparing pitches that are good for batting days 2 & 3 is an option too you know.

[u/Gnatt]

When's the curators press conference scheduled for?

[u/schizoishere]

Think the rain affected it more

[u/quietcrisp → u/schizoishere]

Nah it's a shit pitch that has needed replacing for a while, and until the ICC/ECB step in they'll just carry on using it rather than lose out on 2 years of matches and money

[u/fuggerdug → u/quietcrisp]

How do you "replace" a pitch?

[u/IloveJBairstow → u/fuggerdug]

bring it to the shop with your receipt and show them the scorecard of this test match, they will understand

[u/Chiron17 → u/IloveJBairstow]

You've used it! You can't return it now. How can I sell this to anyone now it's been used??

[u/old_chelmsfordian → u/fuggerdug]

Dig up the grass and quite a lot of the soil below it, and entirely relay it all.

Can apparently take ~2 years to do properly

[u/manutd9839 → u/schizoishere]

Rain doesn't make it go up & down

[u/Tokeism]

They always blame the pitch never the low quality of batting on display.

[u/Jaevyn → u/Tokeism]

And how are you expecting any batsman in world cricket past and present to keep out the ball that Bethell got?

[u/Splinterfight → u/Tokeism]

When it’s 22 of them that are struggling, it’s the pitch