Yep, that’s pretty bad The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially rated the pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as “unsatisfactory.” This judgment follows the recent retention of the traditional Boxing Day Test. This match, part of the ongoing Ashes series, lasted only two days and marked the second two-day affair in the series. The ICC’s ruling is the result of fears that too much seam movement was skewing in the direction of pace bowlers during the game.
During the Boxing Day Test, a total of thirty-six wickets fell across six sessions, highlighting the pitch’s challenging conditions for batsmen. Travis Head emerged as the standout performer with the highest score of the match, contributing 46 runs in Australia’s second innings. Last summer, England won the opening Test of the series by four wickets. This win made for quite the competitive backdrop for their ensuing encounter.
The MCG pitch has been heavily criticized over the years. A notable case was a 2017 Test that ended in a tie, where the bowlers had no joy and 24 wickets fell in total. After that performance, a later pitch used for a game against India was deemed “average.” This new ruling is a clear departure from past ratings. For the first time ever, an Australian pitch has been rated poorly under the ICC’s current assessment scheme.
Jeff Crowe, an official with the ICC, commented on the situation, stating, “The MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers.” Pitch quality has become a source of major concern in the cricket community, and this sentiment conveyed by Lee goes deeper than just one Test appearance.
Historically, venues that accrue six demerit points over a five-year period may face suspension from hosting international matches for twelve months. The ICC’s rating of the MCG pitch raises questions about the venue’s future as a host for major cricket events, given that this is the first instance of an Australian pitch being deemed substandard since the ICC revised its evaluation criteria two years ago.
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