Big revelation on the difficult pitch of the Boxing Day Test, has this decision of the curator been ‘played’?

MCG Pitch Under Scanner: The pitch of Melbourne Cricket Ground has come under question after the first day of the Boxing Day Test. All 20 wickets fell at the MCG on 26 December 2026 as the bowlers dominated the batsmen of both Australia and England. The lush green surface, constructed with approximately 10 mm of grass, provided clean seam movement throughout the day, more than last year, making it very difficult for the batsmen to escape.

This match may end soon

MCG curator Matt Page’s target was to recreate the surface used in last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test, which lasted for five days. However, there is no possibility of this match going ahead for more than 2 or 3 days, due to which even the former players have been heavily criticized. Due to unusually cold weather and favorable conditions for fast bowlers, English captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first, and Australia also chose to bowl full seam.

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Veterans raised questions

Former England fast bowler Steward Broad was one of the harshest critics, saying that the pitch had too much swing and that Test bowlers did not need such support to be effective. Australian great Glenn McGrath echoed the same concerns, saying the surface has ‘too much life’ and makes it very difficult for batsmen to adapt.

‘Pitch in favor of bowlers’

Alastair Cook said that the balance had tilted too much in favor of the bowlers, and described it as an ‘unfair match’ if conditions did not improve quickly. Brett Lee also felt that there was more grass on the pitch, joking that it was a dream for fast bowlers. Many balls showed sharp variation, including the balls that dismissed Steve Smith, Harry Brook and Jamie Smith.

Michael Neser defended

Australia’s Michael Neser performed brilliantly in both batting and bowling in this match. Despite the criticism, he suggested that the pitch could still gradually level out. He defended the aggressive batting approach. Neser also said that the batsmen had no other option but to take risks to put pressure on the high quality bowling attack.

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