Why has Lord's dug up its pitch and what comes next?

But this is not the end of the story.

In a letter sent to members last week, the MCC chair Mark Nicholas warned "we should all be braced for the scheduling challenges" their pitch plans will bring.

Pitch Nine will be out of action until 2029 at the earliest, depriving Lord's of one of its main TV pitches.

Major matches next year include the second men's Ashes Test in late June, a women's Ashes one-day international in July, a men's Test against Bangladesh in May, and a men's ODI in September.

Lord's plans to cope as best it can and the MCC has also stepped up its plans around hybrid pitches.

Lord's already has two hybrids, where synthetic fibres are inserted and mixed with a regular grass pitch, and a third will be added to the square in the spring.

Hybrids are not currently allowed in Test cricket but are allowed in white-ball internationals and domestic cricket.

They can be revitalised and reused more quickly than natural surfaces, which could relieve some of the pressure caused by the loss of Pitch Nine.

And Lord's is also continuing with its plans to introduce drop-in surfaces.

Drop-ins - pitches which are grown away from the main square before being 'dropped' into place - are common in Australia and New Zealand but not in the UK.

After Nicholas said earlier this year drop-ins could be used as early as 2028, the first trays will be introduced to the Nursery Ground in the coming weeks.

"The work now underway represents the most comprehensive review of the square and pitch preparation at Lord's in a generation," Nicholas told members.

"While these changes will take time to deliver their full benefit, they will help to ensure that the club prepares pitches worthy of the ground's reputation."

Time will tell whether the changes are as successful as hoped.