The opening day of the Boxing Day Test in the Ashes at Melbourne Cricket Ground saw 20 wickets fall. However, one man missing the action was pacer Pat Cummins after the Australian captain decided to take rest for the remaining two Tests of the Ashes to prepare for the T20 World Cup. With the Melbourne pitch offering assistance to the pacers and 20 wickets falling to the quicks on Friday, former Australian pacer Brett Lee believes Cummins would have gone to the team hotel to pick up his spikes with the pitch offering so much of assistance to the pacers.
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“I think there’s a bit too much in it. I wouldn’t be complaining at the end of the day if I was a fast bowler. It’s a different surface; it’s that furry feeling. I rubbed my hand on the side of the wicket this morning, and you can feel the grass lift up. Cummo [Australia captain Pat Cummins] was almost going to go back to the hotel to pick up his spikes,” Lee said on Fox Cricket.
It was a day of record attendance at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a crowd of 94,442 attending the opening day of the Test. Friday’s attendance meant that the previous all-time attendance record of 93,0213 for a single day at Melbourne Cricket ground was broken. England pacer Josh Tongue took five wickets during Australia’s first innings as the hosts were bundled out for a total of 152 in 45.2 overs. In reply, England could only manage a first innings’ total of 110 runs in 29.5 overs with only Harry Brook showing some resistance during his 34-ball knock of 41 runs.
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Pat Cummins took six wickets in the Adelaide Test as Australia won by 82 runs. (AP Photo)
Former Australian captain Mark Waugh too shared his views after a Scott Boland delivery was inside-edged by England batsman Will Jacks with the ball moving sharply off the seam. “I’m not really liking what I’m seeing so far. It’s just a bit too much in favour of the quicker bowlers. That’s gone a mile. That’s seamed like an off-spinner,” said Waugh on Fox Cricket.
Australian pacer Michael Neser took 4 for 45 during his spell of ten overs during the England innings. Neser, who had claimed six wickets including a five-wicket haul in the second innings at the Brisbane Test spoke about how the bowlers knew that they had to be patient with the wicket doing the work. “The ball definitely nipped around a bit there with the new rock, so it was just a matter of trying to find ways to put pressure back on their bowlers – and knowing that, when we bowled, we had to just be patient and let the wicket do the work. Going into it, you knew it was going to nip around with the amount of grass there, but traditionally it can flatten out here, so we’ll see how it pans out… I don’t want to go into tomorrow with the preconception of ‘the wicket’s going to be doing a lot’ because it can flatten, and we’ve just got to stick to our processes. I think you have to change the way you approach it because bowlers are so good at just holding their length nowadays, so you have to actually put pressure back on them as a batter. I know it can look streaky at times, but at times that’s the only way to score: be brave and come at them,” Neser said post the day’s play.
