Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch curator Matthew Page says he is in a “state of shock” after the Boxing Day Ashes Test at the venue lasted just two days and has vowed to “get it right next year”.
On a surface boasting 10mm of grass, 36 wickets fell across 142 overs with neither England or Australia passing 200 in the match and the highest individual score across both sides the 46 hit by home opener Travis Head in his side’s second innings.
The early finish is projected to cost Cricket Australia in the region of £5millon with that organisation’s CEO Todd Greenberg saying after a 20-wicket opening day that short Tests are “bad for business”.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Page said: “We’re obviously really disappointed that it’s gone for two days. I was in a state of shock after the first day.
“To see everything that happened and 20 wickets in a day, I’ve never been involved in a Test match like it and hopefully will never be involved in a Test match like it again.
“It was a rollercoaster ride for two days, to see everything unfold. A lot of the noise is obviously outside.
“I personally don’t read papers, I don’t watch the news – but we know that this hasn’t gone as we had planned.”
‘Test was captivating – but didn’t last long enough’
Page was hired in the aftermath of the bore draw in the 2017/18 Ashes Test at the MCG when England opener Sir Alastair Cook made 244 not out after batting for over 10 hours on a lifeless surface.
This year’s MCG deck certainly made for thrilling viewing but has been criticised by England captain Ben Stokes and Australia counterpart Steve Smith, as well as Cook and other ex-players.
Page added: “Our issues here with deterioration in pitches and getting very flat has been well-documented and we are very conscious of that.
“We’ve produced a Test that’s been captivating, but it hasn’t gone long enough and we’ll take ownership of that. We’ll learn from it, we’ll grow, and we’ll make sure that we’ll get it right next year.”
Harry Brook’s first-innings 41 was England’s highest individual score in an astonishing Boxing Day Test
The International Cricket Council has yet to release its pitch report but previously rated the track at Optus Stadium as ‘very good’ after another two-day finish in the series opener at Perth last month.
England’s four-wicket win in Melbourne cut their deficit in the series to 3-1 ahead of the final Test in Sydney from Sunday January 4.
‘Bad for business, farcical’ – What have people said about manic match at MCG?
Cricket Australia CEO Greenberg told SEN Radio before day two: “A simple phrase I’d use is – short Tests are bad for business. I can’t be much more blunt than that.
“Historically we have taken a hands-off approach in all of our wicket preparation…but it’s hard not to get more involved when you see the impact on the sport, particularly commercially.”
Travis Head’s second-innings 46 was the highest score of the MCG Test
With no spin bowling seen at all in the game, Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain said: “I don’t think the great Shane Warne would have thought that was acceptable and I don’t think it’s acceptable not having spin at all and there being so much movement in the surface.
“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.”
Hussain’s fellow Sky Sports pundit Michael Atherton said of the surface: “It wasn’t dangerous and it was fair to both sides in the sense that it didn’t change. 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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England captain Ben Stokes gave his thoughts on the ‘tricky’ pitch at the MCG after his team’s two-day win
Stokes added: “Being brutally honest, that’s not what you want for a Boxing Day Test match. You don’t want a game finishing in less than two days.
Stokes went on to say, “I’m pretty sure if that was somewhere else in the world there’d be hell on,” although when asked by reporters if he was referring to Asian pitches that can spin prodigiously, he added: “Those are your words, not mine.”
Australia captain Smith said: “I think the pitch was too much. When you see 30-odd wickets across two days it is probably too much. Maybe we could drop the grass down from 10mm to 8mm.
“It would be good if it was a little bit longer and we were able to entertain the fans some more but it wasn’t to be.”
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Steve Smith reflects on Australia’s loss to England in Melbourne
Stuart Fox, the chief executive of Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), backed Page, saying. “We brought Matt on eight years ago because he’s considered one of the best in the country – if not the best. I still believe that and I always will.
“Our responsibility is to provide a pitch with good balance between bat and ball, and we just weren’t able to do that. I think it demonstrates the fine margins and the difficulty [Page] faces every week, so I’m here to support him.”
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