Misbehaving Lord’s pitch is a return to unpredictable era of unplayable chaos

Ollie Robinson successfully appeals for the wicket of Saud Shakeel, who came closest to a century at Lord’s. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

The performance of the Lord’s pitch during its previous Test, against New Zealand in June, was so appalling that it was followed by an apology from the MCC and a scathing unsatisfactory rating from the International Cricket Council.

The MCC got ahead of the game in this Test by issuing a statement early in the fourth innings, reassuring us that “independent specialists” were “confident that there are solutions to improving pitch quality and performance”.