The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given one demerit point each to the pitches for the first Test between England and New Zealand at Lord’s Cricket Ground and the third ODI between Pakistan and Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, describing them as unsatisfactory.

Match referees Andy Pycroft and Graeme La Broye mentioned the concerns of the umpires and the captains of both teams in their reports.

Regarding the Lord’s pitch, Andy Pycroft said that the ball was taking excessive seam movement throughout the Test match, while also remaining unusually low on several occasions. The bounce was consistently uneven. 16 wickets fell on the first day and 17 on the second day, which made it clear that the wicket had completely tipped the balance between bat and ball in favour of the ball.

Regarding the Gaddafi Stadium, Graeme La Broye said that the wicket was very slow and low, which made it very difficult to score runs. It was not up to the standards of One Day International cricket as the batters needed an unusual amount of time to settle. The wicket started to help the spinners from the early stages of the match and this situation continued throughout the match.

The ICC reports have been sent to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and both boards have 14 days to file an appeal against the decision.