Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) curator Matthew Page has addressed the intense criticism surrounding the pitch used for the Boxing Day Test, after the match ended in shocking fashion. The fourth Ashes Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) concluded in under 32 hours, with England securing victory after a rapid collapse of wickets over just two days.
A total of 36 wickets fell during the short contest, and following the outcome, former cricketers and commentators questioned the quality and balance of the surface. Even Steve Smith and Ben Stokes were highly critical of the surface. It was the second time in the series that an Ashes Test had been completed inside two days.
"We're obviously really disappointed that it's gone for two days. We’d rather be in there (today) watching these two great teams going at it," Page said while speaking to reporters.
“We’ll learn from this, we’ll get better from it, as we have done over the last seven years with every setback we’ve faced. We'll look at at data. We’ll grow from it, and we’ll ensure that we get it right again next year. This year we've produced a pitch that has favoured the bowlers more than the batters,"
Page admitted the result had left him stunned, admitting that the pitch did not perform to the standards expected of a Boxing Day Test.
"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. We will learn from it. 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."
Page defended the decision to leave 10mm of grass on the pitch.
"This year, we've gone in with 10mm and we knew we were gonna get a lot of hot weather at the back end of the game. Our issues here with deterioration in pitches and getting very flat has been well-documented and we are very conscious of that."
"Our grass is vitally important to what we do so we don't get inconsistent bounce and we don't get deterioration in our pitches. We're trying to balance that contest between bat and ball over the four or five days to provide that captivating Test. So for us We left it longer because we knew we were gonna get weather at the back-end and we needed our grass."
"You look back at it and it's favoured the bowlers too much on day one and day two. If that doesn't happen, then we set ourselves up really good for days three and four."