MCC boss Stuart Fox staunchly defends chief curator Matt Page after a wild Boxing Day Test finishes within two days.<\/p>\n
The venue was also handed one demerit point, but that will likely mean little given it takes six over a five-year period before grounds are barred from hosting internationals.<\/p>\n
But the quick finish is expected to cost Cricket Australia (CA) more than $10 million in missed revenue, with tickets refunded for a sold-out day three, and day four also well sold.<\/p>\n
The “unsatisfactory” ranking is the second-lowest on the ICC’s four-level system, and marks the first time it has been handed down since South Africa’s two-day win over India in Cape Town in January 2024.<\/p>\n
“We\u202fwere\u202fdisappointed\u202ffor the fans holding tickets for days three and four, and also the millions of fans excited to watch the action in Australia and around the world, that the pitch did not provide\u202fthe MCG’s customary\u202fbalance\u202fbetween bat and ball,” CA chief of cricket James Allsopp said.<\/p>\n
“We appreciate the\u202foutstanding work the MCC (Melbourne Cricket Club) staff have done over recent years producing\u202fexcellent\u202fTest match pitches.<\/p>\n
“We’re\u202fconfident they will\u202fdeliver\u202ffirst-rate surfaces\u202ffor next year’s Boxing Day Test against New Zealand and the\u202fhugely\u202fanticipated\u202f150th\u202fAnniversary Test against England in\u202fMarch\u202f2027.”<\/p>\n
The MCG’s ranking comes after the Perth pitch was handed the top mark of “very good”, after that match also finished inside two days.<\/p>\n
It is the first time the same series has had multiple two-day Tests in 129 years.<\/p>\n
![\"Australia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/afd82bd7cdd0ab9d2727241ddd4731a1.jpeg\")
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Batting was almost impossible in Melbourne. (Getty Images: Quinn Rooney)<\/p>\n
CA chief executive Todd Greenberg has suggested the governing body could step in to avoid a repeat of this summer, saying “short Tests are bad for business”.<\/p>\n
Australia’s curators have historically been given independence, with instructions only to give their local venues “unique characteristics” as part of their strategy.<\/p>\n
“I don’t want to get to a situation \u2026 where we are asking for specific surfaces and tailor-made,” McDonald said at the MCG on Monday.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think Australia will ever go there, and I don’t think they’ve ever been there to my knowledge.”<\/p>\n
McDonald defended head curator Matt Page against critics, praising his performance in turning the MCG around from one of the dullest pitches in Australia.<\/p>\n
Page was poached from the WACA after the MCG pitch received a “poor” rating when only 24 wickets fell across five days in a dull 2017 draw.<\/p>\n
There hasn’t been a drawn Test at the MCG since then, when Alastair Cook batted for 10-and-a-half hours.<\/p>\n