The Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch has received a demerit point after being deemed ‘unsatisfactory’ by the International Cricket Council Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.
It comes after a whirlwind fourth Ashes Test concluded after just two days of play, as 36 wickets fell across only 142 overs with no batter managing to record a half-century.
Thanks, in part, to the pitch at the MCG, England secured their first Test victory on Australian soil since 2011, but Australia have already retained the Ashes after winning the first three Tests.
Head curator Matthew Page admitted he was in a “state of shock” at how the penultimate match of the series unfolded on a surface that had 10mm grass left on, producing lavish movement for seam bowlers.
Despite England’s four-wicket win, captain Ben Stokes felt there would be “hell on” if the Melbourne pitch was produced elsewhere in the world, and the ICC has handed down its second-lowest rating.
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England captain Ben Stokes gave his thoughts on the ‘tricky’ pitch at the MCG after his team’s two-day win
Match referee Jeff Crowe said: “The MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers. With 20 wickets falling on the first day, 16 on the second day and no batter even reaching a half-century, the pitch was ‘unsatisfactory’ as per the guidelines and the venue gets one demerit point.”
Pitches are rated either ‘very good’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘unsatisfactory’ or ‘unfit’. If a ground receives six demerit points over a rolling five-year period, it will be hit with a 12-month ban from staging international matches.
While the first Test at Perth last month also produced a two-day finish, with Australia drawing first blood in the five-match series, the pitch there received the ICC’s highest rating of ‘very good’.
Sky Sports pundit Michael Atherton said of the surface: “It was a shoot-out on a difficult pitch. But in terms of the spectacle, it’s unsatisfactory.
“You come to watch a broad variety of skills and the game develop over a period of time. You are going to get extreme conditions from time to time but we have had two [two-day Tests] now in this series and I don’t think we want to see this too frequently.”
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Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton reflect on how England avoided a potential Ashes whitewash after ending an 18-Test and 15-year winless streak in Australia
With no spin bowling seen at all in the game, Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain said: “It was farcical at times. That can be thrilling but there are traditionalists who like the ebbs and flows and the slow build. This was not slow, it was in fast-forward and we have enough of that whether through T10, T20, The Hundred.”
England’s consolation win, which leaves them trailing 3-1 with only the final Test in Sydney to go, is set to financially impact Cricket Australia, reportedly to the tune of around £5m.
A sell-out crowd of over 90,000 was due for day three and the lack of play on Sunday will mean an avalanche of refunds as well as lost sales in merchandise, food and drinks.
The final Test of the series will be played in Sydney, beginning on January 4.
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
Australia lead five-match series 3-1
