ICC termed Melbourne Cricket Ground’s pitch as ‘substandard’

New Delhi: The fourth Test match of the Ashes series held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) ended in just two days. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given a demerit point considering the pitch of this match as ‘unsatisfactory’, which will remain effective for the next five years. The pitch has been widely criticized after the match ended in two days.

Match Brief

This Boxing Day Test played between Australia and England progressed at a fast pace. A total of 36 wickets fell in 142 overs, and no batsman could reach a half-century. The sequence of wickets continued to fall with 20 wickets falling on the first day and 16 on the second day, with the pitch providing too much assistance to the seam bowlers, making it difficult for the batsmen to score runs.

England’s victory

England won the match by four wickets and registered their first Test win in Australia since 2011. However, Australia had already clinched the Ashes series by winning the first three matches, and the scoreline now read 3-1. The final match of the series will be played in Sydney from January 4.

ICC match referee’s decision

ICC Elite Panel match referee Jeff Crowe said of the pitch that it was extremely favorable for the bowlers. Due to this, there was no balance between the batsmen and bowlers and the bowlers got many opportunities to take wickets, due to which the pitch was given an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating. This is the first time this has happened under the new rating system for a pitch in Australia. If a stadium gets six demerit points in five years, it can be debarred from hosting international matches for 12 months.

controversial aspect of the pitch

MCG curator Matt Page had left 10 millimeters of grass on the pitch so that the match could last five days. But due to more grass, the ball was having more seam movement, due to which the wickets kept falling rapidly. This was a clear indication of 20 wickets falling on the first day. Cricket Australia also acknowledged that there was not the usual balance between bat and ball on the pitch, leading to disappointment among spectators as tickets for the third and fourth days became worthless.