The head curator of the Melbourne Cricket Ground has made a stunning public admission of failure after a disastrous pitch caused the Boxing Day Ashes Test to finish inside two days, robbing fans and costing the game's governing body millions.
Curator in 'State of Shock' Over Pitch Fiasco
Matt Page fronted the media on Sunday, confessing he and his team "got it badly wrong" with their preparation for the marquee fixture. He described being in a "state of shock" after witnessing 20 wickets fall on the first day, a scenario he hopes never to repeat. The match, which England won to secure their first Test victory in Australia for 15 years, concluded rapidly, leaving three scheduled days of play abandoned.
Page defended the initial decision to leave 10mm of grass on the wicket, compared to 7mm for the previous year's five-day Test against India, citing forecasts of hot weather later in the game. "We're really conscious of flat pitches, we don't want to go back to what we had in 2017," he stated, referencing a past match criticised for being too batter-friendly.
Financial Fallout and Fan Disappointment
The abbreviated match has triggered a massive financial blow for Cricket Australia, with estimates suggesting losses could reach $10 million. Millions in refunds will be issued to patrons who had bought tickets for day three, which was virtually sold out. In a gesture of apology, Australian players will return to the MCG to sign autographs for fans deprived of the action.
This was the second two-day Test of the Australian summer, following the Ashes opener in Perth. Historically, it marks the first time in 129 years that a single Test series has featured multiple two-day matches. The pitch proved so treacherous that no batter from either side managed to score a fifty, the first such occurrence in Australia since 1932.
Widespread Criticism and Lessons Learned
The surface, a fast bowler's dream, was universally panned. England captain Ben Stokes bluntly said such a short match was "not really what you want" for a Boxing Day Test. Criticism also came from bowling legends like Stuart Broad, Glenn McGrath, and Brett Lee, alongside former England skipper Michael Vaughan.
Stand-in Australia captain Steve Smith suggested a slight adjustment in grass length might have created a more balanced contest. "Groundsmen are always learning and they'll probably take something from that," he remarked. Despite the fiasco, Melbourne Cricket Club CEO Stuart Fox expressed his continued faith in Page and his curation team.
The debacle stands in stark contrast to the epic five-day Test against India in 2024 that Page had hoped to replicate, and serves as a jarring reminder of the 2017 MCG pitch that was rated 'poor' for being unresponsive. Both teams now have an unexpected three-day break before the final Test begins at the SCG on January 4.
