The overwhelmingly bowler-friendly Melbourne pitch on which 20 wickets fell on Day One of the Boxing Day Test has prompted Kevin Pietersen and Dinesh Karthik to point out the selective criticism of Indian tracks when spinners get wickets in a heap.
“India always gets hammered when wickets fall like crazy on Day One of a Test and so I hope that Australia gets the same scrutiny! Fair is fair!,” wrote former England skipper Pietersen on his X account.
The decision to leave 10mm grass on the MCG deck generated massive sideways movement, making batting a lottery.
In all, 36 wickets tumbled in six sessions at Melbourne as the fourth Test ended inside two days with England winning by four wickets.
“MCG have produced an ordinary pitch here. Can’t believe two out of the four Ashes Tests could end in two days. For all the hype, four Ashes Tests have happened in just 13 days,” voiced former India batter Karthik.
Their observations were based on the heavy criticism Indian spinners and pitches often have to encounter when such things happen in the sub-continent.
Even Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg admitted that the Melbourne pitch was not a great advertisement for Test cricket, a format that already faces several other challenges.
“As mesmerising and fascinating and enjoyable as it was to watch as a fan, we want Test cricket clearly to go for longer. I didn’t sleep well last night, put it that way.
“A simple phrase I’d use is short Tests are bad for business,” he said.
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