'New' Old Trafford pitch 'old wine in new bottle'

The England cricket team has been reassured by Lancashire that the new Old Trafford pitch would be very similar to 2005's nail-biting third Ashes Test, in which they have recorded 10 consecutive victories in all forms of the game since June 2006.

According to The Guardian, the scoreboards of several County Championship matches played in Manchester since the square was reoriented in the winter of 2010-11 have suggested that the hard, bouncy pitches of the past few decades that have suited pace and spin might have given way to a new pitch.

Lancashire has had regular visits from Chris Wood, the pitches consultant of the England and Wales Cricket Board, and the managing director of England cricket, Hugh Morris, has made the odd appearance, along with England's team director being in Manchester last week for some coaching business, the report said.

The head grounds-man of the pitch expressed that he wished he could have had the dry weather but beating the weather was difficult, the report added.