England captain Ben Stokes expressed that the wicket for the fourth Test of the Ashes series at Melbourne would likely face more criticism if it were prepared elsewhere in the world. He emphasized that a game finishing in less than two days is undesirable.
The 10mm of grass left on the pitch led to a staggering 36 wickets falling in six sessions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). England secured a long-awaited Test match victory in Australia after 14 years with a four-wicket win. They bowled out Australia for 132 in their second innings, setting up a target of 175, which they chased down after losing six wickets.
“When you go out there, and you’re faced with conditions, you’ve got to crack on and deal with it. But, being brutally honest, that’s not really what you want. A Boxing Day Test match, you don’t want a game finishing in less than two days,” Stokes stated during the post-match press conference.
Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith raised questions about the MCG pitch preparation, stating he was ‘not sure’ why head groundsman Matthew Page left so much grass on the surface. This matter is expected to be addressed by Page during his media interaction on Sunday.
“We let them judge it and do what they see fit. I said before the game that it looked like it was going to offer a fair amount, and it probably did more than we thought it was going to. It’s tough as a groundsman; I think he’s always looking for the right balance. I suppose last year’s wicket was an outstanding one; it went to day five (in the) last session,” Smith remarked.
“In an ideal world, every wicket does that, and it’s exciting for everyone. Maybe if you took it from 10 (mm) to eight, it would have been a nice, challenging wicket, make it a little bit more even, I suppose. But groundsmen are always learning, and he’ll probably take something from that, no doubt,” he added.