Soft MCG pitch has Proteas hoping for sun
TWO full days baking in Melbourne sunshine before the Boxing Day Test starts could be crucial to the pitch preparation for MCG curator Matt Page after an initial inspection from the South Africans found it a “little bit soft”.
After training on Friday Proteas’ batting coach Justin Sammons in fact said the wicket was softer at the same stage of preparations than the Gabba wicket in Brisbane which was rated as “below average” after the opening Test was won by Australia inside two days. Last year’s Boxing Day Test lasted less than three days, as local hero Scott Boland took 6-7 to rock England on debut.
The Victorian, who remains unsure if he’ll get to play again this year, was adamant the MCG wicket had produced a “good battle between bat and ball” for most recent matches he’s played at the iconic venue.
But Sammons, who noted it was “less green” than the Gabba pitch, wasn’t enthused by what he saw on first inspection. “I felt it earlier, I had a look. It‘s still a couple days out so it’s gonna be tough to say but it was a little bit soft at the moment, but yeah, we’ll see where it’s at in two or three days time,” he said.
“It’s different in it’s colour complexion (to the Gabba), a little bit less green. There is grass on the wicket, but it’s less green. At the moment is it is a little bit softer than the Gabba was at this stage.”
Despite the early look at the pitch Sammons said there was no concerns from his team about a repeat of the Gabba debacle, where the Proteas were all out for 99 in their second innings.
He said his batting outfit didn’t “play to our potential” and conditions couldn’t be an excuse. “But both teams play on it. At the end of the day, you know, we can‘t use the conditions as an excuse,” he said.