\u201cMCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers,\u201d says match referee Jeff Crowe
\n Melbourne
\nThe Melbourne Cricket Ground\u2019s seam-friendly pitch for the fourth Ashes Test was rated \u201cunsatisfactory\u201d on Monday by the International Cricket Council after it ended inside two days.
\nUnder the world governing body\u2019s four-tier rating system \u201cunsatisfactory\u201d is the second lowest, characterising a pitch \u201cfavouring the bowlers too much\u201d.
\nIt broke the venue\u2019s streak of \u201cvery good\u201d ratings for the past three Boxing Day Tests and earned it one demerit point.
\n\u201cThe MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers,\u201d said match referee Jeff Crowe.
\n\u201cWith 20 wickets falling on the first day, 16 on the second day and no batter even reaching a half-century, the pitch was \u2018unsatisfactory\u2019 as per the guidelines and the venue gets one demerit point.\u201d
\nEngland beat Australia by four wickets in the final session of day two, with no batsman scoring more than 46 across the four innings.
\nThe first Test in Perth also ended in two days, but that pitch was rated \u201cvery good\u201d by the ICC.
\nMCG curator Matt Page and his team left 10 millimetres (0.4 inches) of grass on the wicket, providing the seamers with movement and bounce and making batting treacherous.
\nThe carnage left Cricket Australia facing Aus$10 million (US$6.7 million) in revenue shortfall, with tickets for day three and four needing to be refunded.
\n\u201cWe were disappointed for the fans holding tickets for days three and four, and also the millions of fans excited to watch the action in Australia and around the world, that the pitch did not provide the MCG\u2019s customary balance between bat and ball,\u201d said Cricket Australia\u2019s chief of cricket James Allsopp.
\n\u201cWe appreciate the outstanding work the MCG staff have done over recent years producing excellent Test match pitches,\u201d he added.
\nBefore the ICC decision was handed down, Australia coach Andrew McDonald came to the defence of Page and warned against authorities meddling in pitch preparation.
\nMcDonald said Page had done an \u201coutstanding\u201d job over the years and the batsmen should also shoulder some of the blame for not scoring enough runs.
\n\u201cThe perspective that I always use is we have bad Test matches as well \u2014 this Test we weren\u2019t at our best and sometimes these things can happen.
\n\u201cWe support him in what he\u2019s done and are really proud of the evolution of the MCG.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s found a nice balance for a long period of time.\u201d
\nCricket Australia are set to undertake their own end-of-season review of the management of Test wickets.
\nChief executive Todd Greenberg has suggested a more interventionist approach might be needed, with shorter Tests \u201cbad for business\u201d.
\nBut McDonald said he was not in favour of any interference, with curators in Australia traditionally independent when preparing pitches, both from captains and Cricket Australia.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to get to a situation […] where we are asking for specific surfaces and tailor-made,\u201d McDonald said.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think Australia will ever go there, and I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve ever been there, to my knowledge.\u201d
\nAustralia led the series 3-1 with the fifth and final Test in Sydney starting Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cMCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers,\u201d says match referee Jeff Crowe Melbourne The Melbourne Cricket Ground\u2019s seam-friendly pitch for the fourth Ashes Test was rated \u201cunsatisfactory\u201d on Monday by the International Cricket Council after it ended inside two days. Under the world governing body\u2019s four-tier rating system \u201cunsatisfactory\u201d is the second […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-522900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n