MCG curator Matt Page has no intention of delivering an over-spiced pitch such as the one unleashed in the two-day Test at the Gabba, but he will be hoping for a better rating than last year when the Boxing Day Test surface is unveiled.
Melbourne Cricket Club officials were left aghast last summer when match referee David Boon rated the drop-in pitch, on which debutant fast bowler Scott Boland speared Australia to an innings-and-14-run victory, as “average”, following grades of “very good” and “good” for the Tests in 2019 and 2020 against New Zealand and India, respectively.
The Boxing Day Test last year finished before lunch on the third day after England collapsed for the second time in the game to be dismissed for 68. While Australia scored 267 in their only innings, suggesting the pitch was not a minefield, the tourists’ woes with the bat – a feature through their entire campaign – prompted Test great Boon to suggest the pitch had played a role.
While match referee David Boon was not a big fan of the MCG pitch used in last year’s Ashes Test, Australian quick Scott Boland was delighted after he claimed the Johnny Mullagh medal for his best afield efforts.Credit:Getty
As attention also turns to a tribute next week for Shane Warne, MCC chief executive Stuart Fox said on Monday that Page was preparing a pitch that would aid batsmen and bowlers in the second Test between Australia and South Africa.
There are expectations this pitch will have less grass covering than last year, and the predicted warm weather in the lead up should lead to less moisture and seam. All going to plan, Page can expect a better pitch rating.
“Preparations are going well at the MCG ahead of the Boxing Day Test. The weather is looking good for the next week, which will continue to aid our preparations,” Fox said.
MCG curator Matt Page hopes to avoid a repeat of the “average” rating given to his Test pitch last season.Credit:Joe Armao
“As always, we are aiming to prepare a pitch that provides a good balance between bat and ball.”
Australian batsman Steve Smith last year said the MCG pitch was “seaming as far as I’ve seen in my career on any wicket”, which may have also factored into Boon’s assessment. Smith said on Sunday the Gabba’s “Green Mamba” deck had been the toughest he had encountered ever on Australian soil, which does not bode well for a healthy ranking by match referee Richie Richardson.
The Gabba was last year given a marking of “average” despite the Ashes opener carrying into a fifth day.
The MCG square and pitch preparations have been overhauled since the MCG was given a poor rating in the drawn 2017-18 Ashes Test, which left the venue in danger of being stripped of international cricket.
In the venue’s only Sheffield Shield match this season, Tasmania claimed an entertaining four-wicket win, having elected to bowl first on pitch offering assistance. The Victorians were fired out in their first innings for only 121 in 52.4 overs, with former Test pacemen Jackson Bird (4-13) and Peter Siddle (3-34) creating havoc. Tasmania responded with 220, the Vics finding their groove with a second innings 336, as Bird added four more wickets. The visitors (6-241) then negotiated their way to victory.
Broadcasters, sponsors and fans will not want a repeat of the two-day Test in Brisbane, which prompted Test greats Ricky Ponting and local hero Matthew Hayden to say the pitch had been “over-cooked”.
South African captain Dean Elgar even asked the umpires late on day two whether the pitch was unsafe, but it has also been pointed out the Proteas have lost inside two days three times this year.
Australian skipper Pat Cummins would only label the deck as “tricky”, despite 34 wickets falling inside six sessions. Captains consult the match referee on pitch ratings, but the referee delivers the final grading.
The Boxing Day Test will also give fans the chance to honour Warne, the legendary leg-spinner who died in March aged 52. Warne’s family and close friends are still coming to terms with his passing, but all look forward to this Test.
The Melbourne Stars paid tribute to their former skipper in their Big Bash League match on Friday when all players donned his famous No.23, but the chance to remember one of the legends of the game will heighten come Monday at a venue where he enjoyed some of his greatest Test moments, including a hat-trick against England in 1994-95 and his 700th Test wicket in 2006-07.
Fans are being encouraged to wear a floppy, wide-brimmed hat, and zinc, in the mould of the charismatic former Test vice-captain, on day one, while there will also be several other tributes.
Warne’s great friend Eddie McGuire said those close to Warne were still adjusting to life without the man who often was the life of the party.
“He was such an amazing guy. There is the cricket side of him, the family side of him, and he was such a great friend to so many people. All of his close friends are still getting through,” McGuire said on Monday.
“It’s the first Christmas without him, without the BBQ down at his place that was always on, the poker nights over the next couple of months down at Portsea. The loss continues because we are going through touchstone events where ‘Warnie’ was running the show. For Boxing Day, it is a fitting tribute.”
Cricket Australia has confirmed that the Australian and South African teams will don floppy hats during the national anthem ceremony. The ceremony will acknowledge the significance of Warne’s favourite ground in his career and life, with Warne’s floppy hat and a ball featured on a plinth on the teams’ path to the ceremony.
Warne’s Test cap number 350 will be splashed square of the wicket for the duration of the Test match. At 3.50pm on Boxing Day, a graphic of Warne will be displayed on the big screen, while a special highlights package paying tribute to his outstanding career will also play across the MCG’s screens and on broadcast.
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