‘That wicket is a shocker’ – Ashes greats slam MCG pitch after chaos in England and Australia

Some of Ashes cricket’s biggest names have attacked the state of the MCG pitch after a record crowd saw 20 wickets fall during a Boxing Day blowout between England and Australia in Melbourne.

An official crowd of 94,199 broke the attendance record at the country’s largest sporting venue, eclipsing the 2015 World Cup final and setting a new high for this historic rivalry.

But while the green track provided a barrage of non-stop action and frequent, sometimes drastic lateral movements, both teams fell within 76 overs – a spectacle that bordered on overkill.

The match produced two completed innings on the first day in an Ashes Test for the first time since 1909.

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AUSTRALIA V ENGLAND FOURTH TEST DAY ONE SCORECARD

Difficult circumstances

England struck first, blowing away the hosts for 152 to give themselves a chance to save face in a series that had already slipped through their fingers, but were even less prepared to face tough conditions.

Facing a skilled and ruthless attack from Australia, they managed 110 all out in just 29.5 overs – the smallest total and shortest innings of the fast-fading ‘Bazball’ era.

The average score per wicket was just 13.1, with Harry Brook’s devil-may-care 41 being the best from either side.

And the verdict from the commentary booths was damning.

Shocking

“That wicket on the first day is a shocker, it really is,” lamented 2005 Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan on Fox Sports.

Sir Alastair Cook, who grounded a belligerent 244 on a flat MCG deck in 2017, agreed on Test Match Special, adding: “We need to talk about this wicket. It is too heavily weighted on the bowlers.

“They didn’t have to work that hard for wickets.

“Could both sides have batted better? Yes. But I looked at the bowling on that pitch and thought, ‘How do you deal with that?’ Mitchell Starc was bowling around the wicket; Some flew miles that way and some flew miles the other way.

“I don’t know how you came up with it. It’s a bit….” [an] unfair competition.”

Movement

Speaking on SEN Radio, former bowler Stuart Broad, a full-paying member of the seamers’ union, said: “It’s just been far too much.

“The pitch is doing too much if I’m brutally honest. Test match bowlers don’t need this amount of movement to look threatening.”

Even former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was in doubt despite his former side ending the day 46 runs ahead with all 10 wickets from the second innings intact.

“We found that 10mm of grass was left on this particular surface.

“Last year, a test match that went on until late on day five, we think there was only 7mm of grass on it,” he said on Channel 7.

“That will be the question that will be asked to the groundsmen: why did you leave more grass this year than in previous years?”

Gain

The result could leave another big hole in Cricket Australia’s finances after a two-day finish in the series opener in Perth.

That cost at least £1.5 million in ticket sales, with further big hits due to lost income in the bars and food courts.

Unsurprisingly, the most successful fast players on both sides were unwilling to criticize the conditions.

“It was a great day of Test cricket on Boxing Day. I thought we did a fantastic job as a bowling unit and they bowled well too,” said Josh Tongue, who took five for 45 for England.

“It’s obviously a pitch that does quite a bit. If you put the ball in the right areas, which I think we’ve done, you’ll be rewarded.”

Australian Michael Neser, who took four for 45 to destroy England’s response, quickly debunked suggestions that the aid was excessive.

“I’m a bowler, so no,” he replied. “You can only judge a wicket at the end of the game.”

READ MORE: Brittle England follow Australia again as 20 wickets tumble on a frenzied first day in the Melbourne Ashes Test