This video can not be played 17 wickets fall as England take control on another action-packed day. Michael Vaughan said he "feels sorry" for batters over the state of the Lord's pitch after 33 wickets fell on the opening two days of the first Test between England and New Zealand. The visitors closed the second day on 36-3 in pursuit of 254, leaving Ben Stokes' side seven wickets from victory.

But while England will be confident of securing a morale-boosting win after their Ashes debacle in Australia over the winter, a number of former players have criticised the surface at the home of cricket. Sixteen wickets fell on a rain-shortened first day, with a further 17 in 79 overs on day two as batters struggled to deal with the variable bounce and considerable lateral movement off the pitch.

"It's not a test for the bowlers, because it has been too easy. This isn't a fair balance between bat and ball," former England captain Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special. "The MCC [Marylebone Cricket Club] know this pitch isn't up to standard. I feel sorry for the batters. This is the best place to play cricket. I feel very fortunate that I didn't have to bat on many pitches like this."

New Zealand still need another 218 runs to win and unless conditions change dramatically, that looks a daunting task. "England will be thinking they need to keep it very simple," Vaughan added. "It's not a challenge for the bowlers – they just need to run up and hit a length. You know the pitch will do the rest. That's not Test cricket, that is not skill. That's not testing physicality or skillset."

"Bowlers have had a week when they've had plenty in their favour. New Zealand have to work out the best way to get 218 runs. I would say: swinging. We've just [seen] Kane Williamson, one of the great technicians, the ball thudded into his back pad. There was nothing he could do about that. If I'm watching that from the New Zealand dressing room, I'm not allowing that to happen. I'm going to go out and play a few shots."

The MCC have offered no comment. England have huge chance amid more Lord's chaos. This video can not be played. Vaughan explains why wickets are falling at Lord's. This is not the first time in recent years that a Lord's pitch has been questioned. Questions were also raised during the 2025 World Test Championship final after 14 wickets fell on each of the first two days. By contrast, just a month later England and India played out a thrilling Test that went five days, but this year's pitch could lead to the match finishing inside three days.

The batters' struggles were exemplified by a delivery from New Zealand seamer Matt Henry that barely bounced above ankle height and cannoned into the stumps, giving England's Jacob Bethell no chance. "This is a really poor pitch. This is not the standard of pitch you'd expect for a Lord's Test, and they've got to do something about it," BBC chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew said. "You can't keep playing on this particular strip and it will cost them a lot of money. The bounce is uneven, there is too much seam movement. It is nipping quickly. That [Jacob] Bethell delivery was utterly unplayable. This is not a pitch that is good for Test cricket."

Speaking on Sky Sports, former England captain Nasser Hussain added: "It has lacked pace but when it has got quicker, it starts misbehaving upwards. As a batter, nothing is worse than up and down bounce. Then you've got to factor in the seam movement and the slope, batting becomes impossible. This ground has got so much going for it, but the bit in the middle is the most important bit and it's not good enough at the moment."

With a women's Test between England and India in July before the men's side return to face Pakistan over five days in August, there is little time for significant changes to be made this summer. But are the issues with the square enough that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) may have to consider taking Tests away from Lord's in future while the pitch problems are dealt with?

"What do the ECB do, if they have to dig up the pitch and start again? It means no cricket here for two years," ex-New Zealand bowler Simon Doull told Sky Sports. "That becomes an ECB problem. They have to combine with the MCC and say, 'sorry, we're going to take games away from you because the pitch is not up to standard'. So until the ECB decide that they will take action by taking games from Lord's, it doesn't force the MCC's hand to get the pitch done. The outfield is magnificent and I feel for the groundstaff because they are working with a tired, old block of turf that is just not conducive to anything they want to do with it. They are trying everything, it's not like they are poor groundstaff. But they are operating with a very poor surface and everything underneath it, and it needs replacing."

This video can not be played Jacob Bethell really was incredibly unlucky... Watch Today at the Test on BBC iPlayer TMS podcast: Wickets galore but Gay stands tall. Get cricket news sent straight to your phone.