Pitch Report: 2019 Ashes series – Lord’s, London

And so the Ashes head to Lord’s, a ground where Australia have generally had things their own way over the years. England’s wins in 2009 and 2013 very much against the historical run of play…
Lord’s: Overview
Established: 1814
First Test: 1884
Capacity: 30,000
Floodlights: Yes
Ends: Pavilion End, Nursery End
Home Teams: Middlesex, England
Lord’s: Test statistics
Tests: 138
Won batting first: 50 (36%)
Won batting second: 39 (28%)
Drawn: 49 (36%)
Home wins: 55
Away wins: 32
Neutral wins: 2
Won toss: W50 L39 D49
Won toss, batted: W37 L26 D36
Won toss, fielded: W13 L13 D13
Highest totals:
729/6d (232.0 overs), Australia v England, June 27 1930
682/6d (177.0 overs), South Africa v England, July 31 2003
653/4d (162.0 overs), England v India, July 26 1990
652/8d (168.4 overs), West Indies v England, August 23 1973
632/4d (196.0 overs), Australia v England, June 17 1993
Lowest totals:
38 (15.4 overs), Ireland v England, July 24 2019
42 (17.0 overs), India v England, June 20 1974
47 (32.3 overs), New Zealand v England, June 19 1958
53 (22.3×5 overs), Australia v England, June 22 1896
53 (50.0×4 overs), England v Australia, July 16 1888
Runs per over: 2.91
Runs per wicket: 31.25
Lord’s: Key points
- England have won four of their last five Tests at Lord’s, all by wide margins
- Only Pakistan (twice) have beaten England here in seven Tests since Australia’s 405-run win four years ago
- Lord’s has become a bowling paradise in the last couple of years; in its last four Tests no side has reached 400, with seven instances of teams bowled out for under 200 – two of those for under 100.
- The rain-affected 2016 draw between England and Sri Lanka is the only one of the last eight Lord’s Tests to even reach the final day. Even the recent four-day Test between England and Ireland was wrapped up in three.
- James Anderson’s injury means he won’t add to his 103 Test wickets at Lord’s here, yet he may not be the loss one might expect: only seven of those 103 (at an average north of 50) have come in three Tests against Australia.
- England’s win against Australia in 2009 was their first Ashes win at Lord’s since World War Two.
- There has only been one Ashes draw at Lord’s in the last 38 years – and that only because rain saved England from a Glenn McGrath-inspired thrashing in 1997.
Lord’s: Last 10 Tests
July 24-26 2019: England (85 & 303) beat Ireland (207 & 38) by 143 runs
August 9-12 2018: England (396/7d) beat India (107 & 130) by an innings and 159 runs
May 24-27 2018: Pakistan (363 & 66/1) beat England (184 & 242) by nine wickets
Sept 7-9 2017: England (194 & 107/1) beat West Indies (123 & 177) by nine wickets
July 6-9 2017: England (458 & 233) beat South Africa (361 & 119) by 211 runs
July 14-17 2016: Pakistan (339 & 215) beat England (272 & 207) by 75 runs
June 9-13 2016: England (416 & 233/7d) drew with Sri Lanka (288 & 78/1)
July 16-19 2015: Australia (566/8d & 254/2d) beat England (312 & 103) by 405 runs
May 21-25 2015: England (389 & 478) beat New Zealand (523 & 220) by 124 runs
July 17-21 2014: India (295 & 342) beat England (319 & 223) by 95 runs
Lord’s: England v Australia statistics
Tests: 36
England wins: 7 (1884, 1886, 1890, 1896, 1934, 2009, 2013)
Australia wins: 15 (1888, 1899, 1909, 1921, 1930, 1948, 1956, 1961, 1972, 1985, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2005, 2015)
Draws: 14 (1893, 1902, 1905, 1912, 1926, 1938, 1953, 1964, 1968, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1997)
Lord’s: Individual stats
Highest runscorers
2015 @ 53.02, Graham Gooch (England), 1975-1994
1937 @ 43.04, Alastair Cook (England), 2006-2018
1562 @ 52.06, Andrew Strauss (England), 2004-2012
1476 @ 44.72, Alec Stewart (England), 1990-2003
1264 @ 46.81, Ian Bell (England), 2005-2015
Highest England runscorers v Australia
467 @ 58.37, David Gower, 1980-1989
395 @ 65.83, Arthur Shrewsbury Sr, 1884-1893
364 @ 60.66, Frank Woolley, 1912-1930
Highest Australian runscorers v England
551 @ 78.71, Don Bradman, 1930-1948
503 @ 100.60, Allan Border, 1980-1993
411 @ 102.75, Warren Bardsley, 1909-1926
Highest scores
333, Graham Gooch (England) v India, July 26 1990
259, Graeme Smith (South Africa) v England, July 31 2003
254, Don Bradman (Australia) v England, June 27 1930
240, Wally Hammond (England) v Australia, June 24 1938
226, Jonathan Trott (England) v Bangladesh, May 27 2010
Highest England scores v Australia
240, Wally Hammond, June 24 1938
180, Joe Root, July 18 2013
175, John Edrich, July 31 1975
Highest Australia scores v England
254, Don Bradman, June 27 1930
215, Steve Smith, July 16 2015
206*, Bill Brown, June 24 1938
Most wickets
103 @ 23.89, James Anderson (England), 2003-2018
90 @ 27.22, Stuart Broad (England), 2008-2019
69 @ 24.53, Ian Botham (England), 1978-1992
63 @ 22.12, Fred Trueman (England), 1952-1965
47 @ 18.76, Bob Willis (England), 1973-1984
Most England wickets v Australia
21 @ 11.53, Hedley Verity, 1934-1938
19 @ 21.15, Fred Trueman, 1956-1964
15 @ 7.26, Johnny Brigggs, 1886-1888
Most Australia wickets v England
26 @ 11.50, Glenn McGrath, 1997-2005
19 @ 14.63, Charlie Turner, 1888-1893
19 @ 19.57, Shane Warne, 1993-2005
Best bowling figures
20.5-8-34-8, Ian Botham (England) v Pakistan, June 15 1978
20.3-8-38-8, Glenn McGrath (Australia) v England, June 19 1997
22.3-8-43-8, Hedley Verity (England) v Australia, June 22 1934
34.5-17-51-8, Derek Underwood (England) v Pakistan, August 8 1974
27.2-9-53-8, Bob Massie (Australia) v England, June 22 1972
Best England bowling figures v Australia
22.3-8-43-8, Hedley Verity, June 22 1934
39.1×4-23-36-7, George Ulyett, July 21 1884
36-15-61-7, Hedley Verity, June 22 1934
Best Australia bowling figures v England
20.3-8-38-8, Glenn McGrath, June 19 1997
27.2-9-53-8, Bob Massie, June 22 1972
32.5-7-84-8, Bob Massie, June 22 1972
Lord’s: Weather forecast
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