The ICC will reveal next week whether the pitch allowed for “an even contest between bat and ball” in the opinion of match referee Andy Pycroft. If not, the surface must be deemed “unsatisfactory” and Lord’s will be given one demerit point in line with the ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process.

MCC, who own and run Lord’s, have invested heavily in attempts to improve the playing surfaces in recent years – including “steaming” the pitch and relaying the outfield this winter – but chief executive Rob Lawson acknowledged in a statement on Sunday that the pitch for the first Test had fallen short of expectations.

“We recognise that the pitch for this Test has shown more variable bounce than we would have wanted,” Lawson said. “We hold ourselves to the highest standards and are naturally frustrated when a surface falls short of those expectations.”

Lawson said that the combination of unseasonably hot weather in May followed by rain in the build-up to the Test had “presented a number of challenges” for head groundsman Karl McDermott and his staff. “However, we fully recognise the need to act quickly,” he added.

“I get asked questions all the time about the longevity of this format,” Stokes said. “The game is played over five days. Without the weather, it wouldn’t even have finished on day four. As someone who believes Test cricket should never disappear, that [early finish] is not ideal.

“From a playing point of view, it’s great to be challenged. We might have conditions that are completely different next week [at The Oval]. We will have to do the same thing: assess the conditions quickly and come up with the best chance of winning.

“It is tough for groundsmen. They are not actively producing wickets that are tricky, with 16 wickets falling in a day [as happened one day one]. But I get asked all the time about what needs to happen, saving Test cricket and this, that and the other. When you see extreme conditions like that, that’s not going to help the game in the future.”

Latham refused to blame New Zealand’s defeat on the pitch, instead highlighting their missed chances in the field and praising England’s bowlers for exploiting the conditions, but acknowledged that the surface had played “a massive part” in the early finish.

“It’s obviously a great week here at Lord’s, and for it to play out like that is unfortunate,” he said. “We understand that the ball does move sideways, whether it be in the air or off the surface, but I think it was more the nature of the ball going up or down this week.”

Latham cited Jacob Bethell’s second-innings dismissal to Matt Henry, when a good-length ball hardly bounced before thudding into off stump, and drew a contrast with the deliveries that reared from a similar length on the fourth morning.

“We saw Bethell’s dismissal and we saw a lot of guys getting hit on the gloves today, which to me just shows that there’s not necessarily the trust in the surface, where you’re able to trust the lengths that the bowlers are bowling which keeps guys caught on the crease,” he said.

“You saw throughout the whole Test match, the dismissals were either bowled or lbw, which to me shows that guys are being caught on the crease. I think that’s just the nature of not being able to trust a surface when balls do keep low and obviously go through the top.”

MCC allowed fans onto the outfield after the early finish on Sunday, and fourth-day ticket-holders will be entitled to 50% refunds since fewer than 30 overs were bowled. On day three, fans were given full refunds after only 58 legitimate balls were bowled due to rain and bad light.