Rarely have winning captains been critical of pitches, but Ben Stokes didn’t hide his feelings even as his team rediscovered their identity, albeit too late in the Ashes series.
The England captain was blunt in his assessment and said there would be “hell on” if a pitch like the one at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was presented in other parts of the world.
“Being brutally honest, that’s not really what you want,” Stokes said. “Boxing Day Test match. You don’t want a game finishing in less than two days. Not ideal.”
“But I’m pretty sure if that was somewhere else in the world, there’d be hell
on. Not the best thing for games that should be played over five days.”
Asked if he was referring to a two-day Test in the subcontinent, Stokes said: “It’s your words, not mine.”
No batter could make a half-century in Melbourne with Travis Head’s 46 being the highest.
Stokes wasn’t off the mark. The Ahmedabad pitch for India’s third Test against England in 2021, a day-nighter where the match ended in two days, had been given an “average” rating by the ICC. The pitch drew a lot of criticism for becoming a turner almost from the beginning.
Australia captain Steve Smith was more restrained in his criticism, describing the MCG pitch as “tricky”.
The result has left the ICC’s rating in danger after 36 wickets fell in 142 overs across two days. The ICC rated the pitch for the opening Test in Perth as “very good” though that too had finished within two days.
Stokes said his feedback on the pitch “won’t be the best” when he speaks to match referee Jeff Crowe.
The ICC hasn’t yet made public match referee Richie Richardson’s ratings for the Eden Gardens pitch against South Africa after it ended in three days last month. Word within the BCCI is that it has received an “average” rating.
The pitch also didn’t escape the censure of Cricket Australia, who lost about $4 million in revenue from the Perth match.
“Simple phrase I’d use is ‘short Tests are bad for business’,” CA chief executive Todd Greenberg said on SEN radio.
“It’s hard not to get more involved when you see the impact on the sport, especially commercially. I’m not suggesting I’ll go around talking to ground staff, but we do have to have a careful eye on what our expectations are...” he said, admitting having spent a sleepless night dreading its impact on the finances.
Rohit Sharma had voiced what Stokes said on Saturday, lashing out at the ICC pitch ratings after India won a Test at Newlands inside five sessions in January 2024.
“Honestly, I would like to see how the pitches are rated,” Rohit had said. “I want to see that. Whatever... that chart...
“And in India as well, we know that the conditions in India will spin without a doubt, but obviously, people don’t like it because it spins from day one. But that’s not the point. If the ball seams from ball one, that’s okay, right, for everyone? That’s not fair.”
CA’s Greenberg indicated that the home Board could have more say in pitch preparations if the trend continued. Unlike in the subcontinent, curators in Australia are fiercely independent when it comes to their craft.
The disturbing trend of shortened Tests could also force the ICC to swing into action at some point. As of now, the home Boards have the sole discretion to monitor pitch preparations, but a radical shift can never be ruled out.
For the record, there were no two-day Tests between 1946 and 2000. But there have been 11 since, including five since 2021, with the advent of the World Test Championships. The move to have more bowler-friendly surfaces could be a trend in the WTC unless the ICC steps in.
Wickets in ICC tournaments are always under the direct supervision of the global body’s chief curator. Andy Atkinson had been in charge most recently during the 2023 World Cup in India and the 2024 T20 World Cup in the US and the Caribbean.
If such below-par surfaces continue in the WTC, it wouldn’t be long before the ICC decides to ensure that it provides a level-playing field.
