DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has declared the pitch of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) unsuitable for the fourth Test match of the Ashes series because of the excessive and grossly one-sided character of the bowlers’ domination.
Match referee Geoff Allardice said that the MCG pitch was so beneficial to the bowlers that it was resulting in the amazing 20 wickets falling on the first day, and the same number 16 on the second day. Consequently, none of the batsmen could manage to score fifty runs, and as a result, the ICC classified the pitch as of poor quality and, according to its rule, gave a demerit point to the ground.
Surprising Conclusion to the Match: At the end of the second day’s last hour, England was just four wickets short of the Australian total, and the reason was that the highest score of any batsman in any innings was only 46 runs.
On the contrary, the Test in Perth also lasted only two days but received a positive review from the ICC. Nevertheless, the MCG’s curator, Matt Page, and his crew had kept 10mm grass on the pitch so that fast bowlers could get the extra bounce and movement which made batting tremendously difficult.
Cricket Australia Financial Losses
This pitch that favored bowlers so much cost Cricket Australia a lot of money since they had to refund the tickets sold for the third and fourth days, leading to a total loss of around 1 million Australian dollars.
James Sutherland, the Chief of Cricket Australia, stated his disappointment: “It was very disappointing for the people who had bought tickets for the third and fourth days, and also the millions of people around the world who were looking forward to watching the match, that the MCG’s long-standing ability to provide a fair contest between bat and ball could not be maintained.”
Defending the Pitch
Before the ruling of the ICC, Australian head coach Andrew McDonald came to the rescue of Matt Page’s efforts and cautioned against meddling with the pitch’s preparations. He stated that Matt Page had been doing a brilliant job throughout the years and he thought that the batsmen should also be held accountable for the low scores in the match.
