CRICKET: MCG pitch rated 'unsatisfactory' after chaotic Ashes test

MELBOURNE – The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) pitch for the Boxing Day Test between Australia and England has been rated "unsatisfactory" after 20 wickets fell in the first three sessions, and the match concluded within just two days.

England secured a four-wicket victory in the low-scoring fourth Ashes Test on what was described as a treacherous pitch, leaving Cricket Australia (CA) facing significant financial losses due to the early finish.

"The MCG pitch was too much in favor of the bowlers," match referee Jeff Crowe said in a statement issued by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday.

"With 20 wickets falling on the first day, 16 on the second, and no batter even reaching a half-century, the pitch has been rated 'Unsatisfactory' according to the guidelines. The venue receives one demerit point."

The demerit point will remain on the MCG’s record for the next five years. A venue that accumulates six demerit points within five years is subject to a one-year ban from hosting international cricket matches.

Curator Matt Page said he was in a "state of shock" at how quickly the match progressed on a greentop where MCG staff had left 10 millimeters of grass—three millimeters taller than last year’s Boxing Day Test.

CA Chief of Cricket James Allsopp acknowledged that the pitch did not deliver the MCG’s usual balance between bat and ball but expressed confidence that the issue would be addressed.

"We are confident they will provide first-rate surfaces for next year’s Boxing Day Test against New Zealand and the highly anticipated 150th-anniversary Test against England in March 2027," Allsopp added.

-Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Peter Rutherford/Reuters