NEW DELHI: Melbourne Cricket Ground head curator Matt Page admitted he was left in a “state of shock” after witnessing the carnage during the two-day fourth Ashes Test, an outcome that has left Cricket Australia staring at a revenue shortfall running into millions of dollars.Page and his team had left 10 millimetres of grass on the pitch, a decision that resulted in excessive seam movement and bounce, making batting extremely difficult throughout the match.
A total of 36 wickets fell in just 142 overs, including 20 on the opening day, with the contest wrapped up in the evening session of day two as England sealed a four-wicket win — their first Test victory in Australia since January 2011.The premature finish dealt a major blow to Cricket Australia’s finances. More than 90,000 spectators were expected for day three, with significant crowds also anticipated for days four and five. However, ticket sales for those days had to be refunded, compounding the financial impact after the series opener in Perth had also ended within two days.It marked the first time in 129 years that the same Ashes series has featured multiple two-day Tests, a scenario last seen in the era when pitches were left uncovered and exposed to the elements.“I was in a state of shock,” Page said.“I’ve never been involved in a Test match like it and hopefully never involved in a Test match like that again.“We know this hasn’t gone as we planned. We will look at what we need to do to improve.”Page pointed out that last year’s Test at the venue had produced a vastly different contest after the grass on the pitch was trimmed to seven millimetres, resulting in a thrilling match that went down to the final session of day five as Australia defeated India.He added that cool and wet conditions in the lead-up to this year’s Test, combined with forecast heat on days three and four, forced him to adopt a different approach.– Pitch ‘a joke’ –“We’re trying to balance that contest between bat and ball throughout, over the four or five days, to provide that captivating Test for all,” he said.“We left it longer because we knew we were going to get (hot) weather at the back end that we knew we needed our grass (for).”International Cricket Council referee Jeff Crowe is yet to deliver his assessment of the pitch, pondering whether to give it an “unsatisfactory” rating which would see the venue slapped with a demerit point.England captain Ben Stokes and Australia counterpart Steve Smith were both critical of the surface, as were a string of former greats.“Being brutally honest, that’s not really what you want,” Stokes said.“Boxing Day Test match, you don’t want a game finishing in less than two days. Not ideal.”Smith said: “It was tricky. No one could really get in. When you see 36 wickets across two days, that’s probably too much.”Former England captain Michael Vaughan labelled the pitch “a joke”.“This is selling the game short, the players, broadcasters and more importantly the fans,” he said.Despite the controversy, MCG chief executive Stuart Fox backed Page and his ground staff to continue.“We bought Matt on eight years ago because he’s considered one of the best in the country, if not the best,” Fox said. “I still believe that, and I always will. “You can see he’s disappointed. He carries that responsibility and my job as a leader is to support people. “When you believe in your people, you get behind them and support them and I know he’ll respond.”(With AFP inputs)
