The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has come under heavy scrutiny after match referee Jeff Crowe rated the pitch “unsatisfactory” following a short-lived Boxing Day Test between Australia and England last week. The match ended in two days as a staggering 36 wickets fell across the opening two days of the fourth Ashes Test. The surface has also been handed one demerit point.
“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," Crowe said in an ICC statement.
The surface featured approximately 10 millimetres of grass, a stark increase from the seven millimetres used in the previous Boxing Day Test, which comfortably lasted the full five days. Though Australia are leading the five-match Ashes battle 3-1, England won the Boxing Day Test to avoid a series whitewash.