Lord's pitch under fire again in Pakistan Test
Extravagant seam movement and erratic bounce at Lord's revive old complaints, months after the MCC apologised for the surface used against New Zealand.
The Lord's pitch has caused trouble again, this time during the Test against Pakistan, weeks after the MCC apologised for the surface used against New Zealand in June and the International Cricket Council rated it unsatisfactory.
The ground's staff moved early this time. The MCC put out a statement during the fourth innings, saying its independent specialists were consulted.
The pitch has not brought the same outcry as its predecessor in June, but seam movement has been extravagant and the bounce erratic,
None of this is new at Lord's. In 1859 Surrey arrived for a fixture, inspected the pitch and left. Sussex did the same five years later. Alfred Lubbock, a leading batter of the 1860s, described the ground's conditions in terms that read like a description of this week's play: "The ball bounces irregularly."
The MCC has pointed to a wider problem rather than one confined to St John's Wood, saying the club faces broader challenges.
To address it, the club says it will bring in an expert panel.
If that panel delivers a fix, the ground's most storied venue may finally shed a reputation for unpredictable pitches that has followed it, on this evidence, for more than 160 years.
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