The Melbourne Cricket Ground was left searching for answers after a Boxing Day Test that ended almost as soon as it began. Twenty wickets fell on the opening day, and by late on day two, the match was over.
The pitch, meant to offer a contest across five days, instead tilted sharply towards the bowlers. MCG head curator Matthew Page did not hide his reaction.
“I was in a state of shock after the first day,” Page told the press at the MCG on Sunday. “We're obviously disappointed 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. 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 had opted to leave 10mm of grass on the surface, up from the 7mm used last year when Australia beat India late on day five. The idea was to protect the pitch from forecast hot weather later in the match.
Instead, the extra grass, combined with high-quality bowling, led to excessive movement off the seam. In total, 36 wickets fell in 142 overs across six sessions.
England capitalised, sealing a four-wicket win late on day two. It was their first Test victory in Australia since 2011. Despite the historic result, England captain Ben Stokes was critical of the surface, saying such a pitch elsewhere would lead to “hell”.
Page accepted the criticism and said the outcome was far from what was intended.
“We know this hasn't gone as we planned. We're trying to balance that contest between bat and ball throughout, over the four or five days, to provide that captivating Test for all,” Page said.
Batters from both sides struggled as the wobble seam dominated. Page explained that weather forecasts had played a key role in the final call on grass length.
“We left it longer because we knew we were going to get (hot) weather at the back end that we knew we needed our grass (for). You look back at it and you go, 'well, it’s favoured the bowlers too much days one and two'. If that doesn't happen, then we set ourselves up really good for day three and four,” Page added.
The consequences go beyond debate over pitch preparation. More than 90,000 fans were expected for a sold-out third day, and the early finish is likely to cost Cricket Australia over AUD 10 million.
Former players were quick to criticise the surface, but Australia opener Travis Head struck a more measured note. His second-innings 46 was the highest score of the match.
“I feel for him. It's bloody tough. You leave 1 or 2mm on with high-quality bowling, you find yourself short, or you take 2 or 3mm with high-quality batting and you leave yourself the other way,” Head said. “Everyone wants to see someone win. Everyone wants to see wickets. No one wants to see a bloke get 300. There needs to be a balance, and sometimes we're going to see the balance, like last week (the third Test in Adelaide) err to the batters, and some weeks we're going to see it err to the bowlers.”