England captain Ben Stokes criticized the exceedingly bowler-friendly Melbourne surface that saw 20 wickets fall on Day 1 of the recently finished Boxing Day Test on Saturday, claiming that such a track would have drawn harsh condemnation elsewhere in the world.
Former India cricketer Dinesh Kartik and former teammate Kevin Pietersen joined Stokes in criticizing the MCG pitch, highlighting the selective condemnation of Indian decks when spinners take a lot of wickets there.
Despite his team’s four-wicket victory, Stokes claimed the pitch was unsuitable for the Boxing Day Test.
“Being brutally honest, that’s not really what you want. Boxing Day Test match. You don’t want a game finishing in less than two days. Not ideal. But you can’t change it once you start the game and you’ve just got to play what’s in front of you,” Stokes told the media after the match.
Additionally, Stokes said that the critics would have quickly sharpened their knives if such a rain of wickets had occurred elsewhere else in the world.
“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. But we played a type of cricket that ended up getting the job done,” he added.
When asked directly if he was referring to spin-friendly pitches in Asia, Stokes jokingly said, “Your words, not mine.”
The hosts were dismissed for 132 in their second innings in 34.3 overs in just over one session on Saturday, while Australia and England bowlers combined to capture 20 wickets in Melbourne on Friday.
Pietersen was also not blind to the irony.
“India ALWAYS gets hammered when wickets fall like crazy on day 1 of a Test and so I hope that Australia gets the same scrutiny! Fair is fair!,” Pietersen, a former England captain, posted on X.
Batting became a lottery due to the huge sideways movement caused by the decision to leave 10mm grass on the MCG deck.
The fourth Test ended in two days with England prevailing by four wickets after 36 wickets fell in six sessions at Melbourne.
The pitch gave a “little too much,” according to Steve Smith, Australia’s stand-in captain.
“(It was a) tricky one… 36 wickets, over two days, probably offered just a little bit too much,” he said.
“It’s tough as a groundsman, he’s always looking for the right sort of balance, I suppose. Last year’s wicket was an outstanding one. It went to day five (and the) last session.”
“In an ideal world, every wicket does that and it’s exciting for everyone, but maybe if you took it (down) from 10(mm) to 8(mm), it would have been a nice challenging wicket, but maybe a little bit more even, I suppose.”
“(The) groundsmen are always learning and you will probably take something from that, no doubt,” he added.
Only 13 of the 20 match days in the Ashes series have seen action thus far.
Earlier, the Australians won the first Test in Perth by eight wickets in just two days.
“MCG have produced an ordinary pitch here. Can’t believe 2 out of the 4 ashes Tests could end in 2 days. For all the hype, 4 ashes tests have happened in just 13 days,” voiced Karthik.
The remarks were based on the harsh criticism that Indian pitchers and spinners frequently face when such incidents occur in the subcontinent.
For example, when England failed to counter Indian spinners on turners in Ahmedabad during the 2020–21 series, the pundits were furious.
After winning the first Test in Chennai, the visiting team faltered against Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin in the next three Tests in Ahmedabad and Chepauk as surfaces gave spinners more support.
However, when pitches were distorted to aid pacers in Australia during the present Ashes, this outburst of rage was less evident.
“This pitch is a joke.. This is selling the game short.. The players / Broadcasters and more importantly the fans.. 26 wickets in 98 overs,” Former India opener Aakash Chopra was more forthcoming in his views.
“Not a single over of spin in 1.5 days of a Test match. 27 wickets have fallen already. Imagine the meltdown if not a single over of pace was bowled for that long in the subcontinent,” wrote Chopra in social media accounts.
In actuality, neither Australia nor England had a front-line spinner going into the fourth Test, and they didn’t even give part-timers like Will Jacks or Travis Head a chance to bowl.
