The ICC on Monday rated the pitch used at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia as unsatisfactory, handing the venue one demerit point after it was deemed to be too heavily in favour of the bowlers.
Twenty wickets fell on the opening day of the Test, which England eventually won by four wickets inside two days.
In an official statement, the ICC said: “The pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the venue for the fourth Ashes Test, has been deemed ‘unsatisfactory’ with the venue handed one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.”
Under ICC regulations, the accumulation of six demerit points results in a 12-month ban on hosting international matches.
Match referee Jeff Crowe explained the reasoning behind the assessment in his report.
“The MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers. With 20 wickets falling on the first day, 16 on the second day and no batter even reaching a half-century, the pitch was ‘Unsatisfactory’ as per the guidelines and the venue gets one demerit point,” he stated.
The pitch attracted sharp criticism from both camps. England captain Ben Stokes said it was not great for the game, while Cricket Australia described the surface as bad for business.
Despite England’s win, which marked their first Test victory on Australian soil since 2011, Australia had already retained the Ashes by winning the first three Tests to take an unassailable 3–0 lead in the series.
The fifth and final Test of the Ashes will be played in Sydney, starting on January 4.