Former England captain Alastair Cook delivered a forthright critique of the Melbourne Cricket Ground surface after a chaotic opening day of the Boxing Day Test that saw all 20 wickets tumble, leaving batters from both sides searching for answers. From the outset, conditions proved hostile. The ball moved appreciably through the air and deviated sharply off the pitch, making strokeplay a high-risk exercise. Even players who appeared set at the crease struggled to trust the bounce, with constant seam movement forcing errors. The difficulty of batting was starkly underlined by the scorecard, which showed not a single half-century across the entire day.
Traditionally viewed as a venue that offers balance between bat and ball, the MCG did not live up to that reputation on Friday. Australia, sent in to bat, were dismissed for just 152 before responding emphatically with the ball to bowl England out for 110. Wickets fell at a relentless pace, offering little respite and ensuring the contest remained on a knife-edge after an extraordinary first day. Speaking on TNT Sports, Cook did not hold back in his assessment of the surface, arguing that it tilted the contest too heavily in favour of the bowlers. “This is not a great Test wicket. Unless this flattens out on days two, three and four, if we get there, then that was too heavily weighted in the bowlers’ favour. The bowlers didn’t have to work that hard for wickets,” Cook said. By stumps, Australia had reached 4 without loss, extending their overall lead to 46 runs. Scott Boland was unbeaten on four, with Travis Head yet to take guard, setting up a delicately balanced situation heading into the next day. Cook acknowledged that both batting line-ups could have shown greater application, but felt the conditions made scoring runs exceptionally difficult from the very start. “Could both sides have batted slightly better? Yes, but if you put the ball in the right area, it was going to nip either way. It was a bit of an unfair contest,” he explained. He also highlighted the challenge posed by Australia’s bowlers, singling out Boland for his relentless accuracy and movement. “I was watching Boland, in particular, and I was thinking, ‘I don’t know how you face that’. To left-handers he was coming around the wicket, attacking the stumps, with some balls jagging one way and some the other. I also don’t know where you go as a right-hander. The pitch should flatten out tomorrow, but the groundsman was telling me he doesn’t think it will,” Cook added.
