After listless finish, MCG faces flak
MELBOURNE: The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) has said it will carry a full review of the drop-in pitch used for the fourth Ashes Test after complaints it produced a dull match. England had started the last day with some hope of winning but was unable to bowl Australia out on a flat and lifeless pitch that offered virtually no assistance to either their pace or spin bowlers.
“That’s as flat a wicket as you’ll ever see - another four days and it would be exactly the same,” Joe Root said. “We did everything we could on a very flat wicket that was not offering the bowlers very much at all.”
The Australian captain Steve Smith was also critical of the pitch, saying it became too predictable and easy to bat on. “It just needs to do something, it hasn’t changed over five days and I’d say if we were playing for the next couple of days it probably wouldn’t change at all either,” he said.
“Obviously we saw a reasonable amount of reverse swing throughout the game but the ball just gets so soft so quickly because the surface is quite hard itself. It gets soft and doesn’t carry through and it’s really difficult to get people out.”
The MCC responded to the complaints with a statement saying, “While this Test pitch did produce a good contest, it has not contained the pace and bounce that we expected,” MCC chief executive Stuart Fox said. “As the game progressed, the surface did not deteriorate nor bring the level of unpredictability that was anticipated. We review all elements of our performance at the conclusion of every event, and the quality is no exception.
“We will take on board feedback from the players, umpires and cricket bodies, as well as our own observations. Our new head curator, Matthew Page, will take on pitch preparation duties in the coming weeks and we look forward to his input.”