New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday rated the pitch used at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia as ‘unsatisfactory’ and handed the iconic venue one demerit point. ICC’s verdict, which deemed the pitch be “too much in favour of the bowlers” in match referee Jeff Crowe’s assessment report, came after the curators and Cricket Australia faced massive backlash.
A whopping 20 wickets fell on the opening day of the fourth Test which England eventually won by four wickets inside two days.
“The pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the venue for the fourth Ashes Test, has been deemed ‘Unsatisfactory’ with the venue handed one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process,” read a statement from the ICC.
A venue is banned for 12 months after accumulates six demerit points.
Crowe delivered the scathing verdict and explained in detail the decision behind the assessment of the pitch.
“The MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers. With 20 wickets falling on the first day, 16 on the second day and no batter even reaching a half-century, the pitch was ‘Unsatisfactory’ as per the guidelines and the venue gets one demerit point,” he stated.
An inevitable verdict
The pitch drew massive criticism with England captain Ben Stokes saying it wasn’t great for the game and Cricket Australia labelling it bad for business.
Even the MCG curator was left stunned with the short duration of the match.
The Boxing Day Test witnessed the fall of a whopping 36 wickets in only 142 overs. Such was the plight of the batters that none from either side managing to reach the 50-run mark.
England bagged their first Test victory on Australian soil since 2011 but the hosts have already retained the Ashes by winning the first three Tests to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead.
The fifth and final Test of the series will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, beginning on January 4.
(With PTI Inputs)
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