Melbourne Cricket Ground curator Matthew Page admitted that he was in a state of shock over how the pitch his team had prepared, played out in the fourth Test of the Ashes series. The Test match lasted for a grand total of two days with 36 wickets falling in total.
This was the second two-day finish of a Test match in this Ashes series with the opener in Perth also being short-lived. Cricket Australia have estimated that the cost of the shortened Test match would cost the organisation around 10 million Australian dollars.
“I’ve never been involved in a Test match like it and hopefully I’m not involved in a Test match like it again,” Page said to the media. “We know this hasn’t gone as we planned. We will look at what we need to do to improve.”
England captain Ben Stokes was clear in his disappointment at the pitch, saying that similar two-day results in other parts of the world would have raised eyebrows and questions.
Page said that while the Test match in itself was ‘captivating’, his team didn’t do enough to ensure that the game went on long enough.
“I was in a state of shock after the first day,” said Page. “We’re obviously disappointed that it’s gone two days. We produced a Test that was captivating, but it hasn’t gone long enough. We’ll learn from that and make sure we get it right next year.”
The state of the pitch was summed up when 20 wickets fell on the first day – something that hadn’t happened at the Ashes since 1909.
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Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stuart Fox defended Page and according to the BBC, said: “We’re obviously disappointed the Test has finished in two days,” said Fox. “We didn’t plan for this and we didn’t want this to happen. It’s a challenging time for us.
“This pitch has clearly favoured the bowlers and hasn’t given the batters a good opportunity to get set. What it demonstrates is the fine margins Matt and his team are dealing with.”
