The centre pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) had a tinge of green on Monday, three days ahead of the fourth Test between India and Australia. After three fast-paced pitches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, attention turned to the green tinge covering the 22 yards in Melbourne during Australia’s first training session at the venue.
India will head into the Boxing Day Test with confidence, having won their last two Tests in Melbourne in 2018-19 and 2020-21. The Asian giants have not lost a Test at the iconic venue since 2012. While India played two spinners on the 2020-21 tour, they relied on part-time off-spinner Hanuma Vihari during the 2018 Test, in which Ravindra Jadeja was the sole spinner.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Full Coverage
As India prepare for the all-important fourth Test in the five-match series, currently tied at 1-1, it remains to be seen whether they opt for two spinners. Notably, R Ashwin, who has enjoyed success at the venue, retired after the third Test in Brisbane, and India now have off-spinner Washington Sundar as a potential replacement.
However, MCG curator Matt Page downplayed the likelihood of the pitch breaking down significantly as the game progressed. The forecast of temperatures reaching 40 degrees on Boxing Day adds further intrigue to how the surface might behave.
“Spinners? Oh, it doesn’t really break up and spin here,” Page said. “If you look at our long-format games over the last four or five years, they’ve been more seam-friendly than spin-friendly. So I don’t see that changing here,” he added.
Since 2010, off-spinner Nathan Lyon has picked up the most wickets at the MCG, with 45 — 10 more than Pat Cummins, who is second on the list. Ashwin, too, has enjoyed success here, taking 14 wickets in three Tests and making good use of the extra bounce.
6MM Of GRASS COVERING
Page also explained the grass covering, noting that his team aims to leave 6mm of grass in the lead-up to the Test to ensure lively pitches that assist fast bowlers with the new ball.
“Seven years ago, we were quite flat. We want to create exciting contests and exciting Test matches, so we leave more grass-that brings the bowlers into the equation,” Page said. “But it’s still good for batting once the new ball goes off. We keep 6mm grass and monitor that as we go.”
When asked if the pitch will match the pace of those at the Gabba or Perth, Page replied: “You can’t compare. Every pitch in Australia is so different these days. Perth has pace and bounce, and you get cracks if it’s hot. Adelaide, with the pink ball, swings around at night. Gabba is quick, bouncy, and seams around. We’re not like that.
“We don’t have the extreme pace of Perth or Brisbane, and we don’t have the pink ball. For us, we’ll get as much pace and bounce as we can. Sideways movement with the new ball and bringing batters into the game at some point.
“We have our own unique character, and that’s what we want,” he added.
LOW-SCORING MATCH?
In the Sheffield Shield match earlier in December at the MCG, Queensland won a low-scoring thriller against Victoria. No team managed to score more than 250, and Victoria fell short of a 273-run target by 24 runs.
Page clarified that the Boxing Day Test pitch will not be as spicy as those used for Shield games.
“There won’t probably be as much seam as in the Shield games. In Shield games, bowlers get a bit more out of it. The preparation is similar, but we tend to pull back slightly because the quality of players goes up,” he said. “We make sure it seams around the whole day with the new ball,” he added.
After receiving criticism for producing a dull, lifeless pitch during the 2017 Ashes Test, the MCG underwent a significant transformation in pitch preparation. The surface for that match was labelled “poor” by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after a high-scoring draw that offered little assistance to either pace bowlers or spinners.
Curator Matt Page, who joined the MCG from the WACA in 2016, played a pivotal role in addressing these issues. Drawing on his experience with Perth’s traditionally lively pitches, Page introduced innovative techniques to restore balance and competitiveness at the MCG. He worked on creating surfaces with better pace, bounce, and carry while ensuring that spinners had something to work with as matches progressed.
