‘Bad for business’: Cricket Australia faces $10 million loss after two-day Test at MCG

England’s two-day win in the Boxing Day Test will deliver a huge financial blow to Australian cricket, which could reportedly reach a figure of $10 million (£5 million). That’s the expected loss of revenue after the match on an excessively bowler-friendly surface in a packed MCG, finished with three full days to spare.

Day three was scheduled for a sold-out crowd of more than 90,000 people, including a traveling English contingent of up to 20,000 people. The lack of play on Sunday will lead to an avalanche of refunds and lost sales of merchandise, food and drinks.

A similar situation occurred when Australia won in two days in Perth, where losses rose to an expected $3 million (£1.5 million). Grounds curator Matthew Page finds himself at the center of the storm after smashing a surface with a lush 10mm of live grass that made smashing a dangerous undertaking.

Desperate to avoid such a scenario, Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg told SEN Radio before the start of the match on the second morning: “A simple phrase I would use is: short tests are bad for business. I can’t be much more blunt than that.”

“Historically we have taken a hands-off approach to all our wicket preparation… but it’s hard not to get more involved when you see the impact on the sport, especially commercially.”

Australia’s acting captain Steve Smith did not appear too concerned about his side’s quick victory in the first Test, but was less pleased after coming out on the losing side. “The finances aren’t great and I think it was a sellout tomorrow,” he said.

“We saw 36 wickets in two days and that shows it was quite a difficult wicket. It probably offered a bit too much. A lot of the Tests have been played in fast forward and this one was over in two days, not ideal. It would be good if it lasted a little longer and we could entertain the fans a bit more, but that wasn’t to be.”

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said the pitch turned the match into a farce. “I don’t think it’s acceptable to have no spin at all and so much movement in the surface,” he told Sky Sports. “It has been farcical at times and when it is farcical it is exciting to watch, but there are still traditionalists in Test match cricket.”