‘MCG pitch would get hell if produced elsewhere’

If the Melbourne pitch, which his England team beat Australia in two days, had been produced in another region of the world, Captain Ben Stokes claims people would “hell” it.

36 wickets fell in six sessions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), and Travis Head’s 46 was the only other batter’s record on either side.

When asked what kind of pitch-related criticism he would offer Jeff Crowe, the match referee, said: “Not the best.”

You can read into that a lot, he said in Test Match Special, “With 36 wickets in less than two days and no total over 200.”

You’d probably get a pasting if that was another circumstance occurring somewhere else.

The all-rounder made a possible remark about the criticism of Asian pitches that can turn too quickly and lead to lengthy Tests.

Stokes responded, “Those are your words, not mine,” when asked about making that inference.

He continued, “I’m pretty sure if that was somewhere else in the world there would be hell on.”

“We played a kind of cricket that ended up getting the job done,” said one player who said, “It is not the best thing for games that should be played over five days.”

After the series opener in Perth, which was also conducted within 48 hours, England won the second of the Ashes. Since 1896, this is the first Test series between opposing teams to feature two two-day tests.

England ended its 18 Test run in Australia by chasing 175 to win by four wickets in the pursuit of a victory.

Smith, who was speaking after his team was defeated, said he was “not sure” why MCG head groundsman Matthew Page chose to leave so much grass on the field for the famous Australian sporting event. On Sunday, Page will speak with the media.

“We let them decide it,” Smith said, “and they can do whatever they like.”

“I previously stated before the game that it appeared to offer a respectable amount, and it probably did more than we anticipated.”

As a groundsman, it’s difficult to find the right balance. If he had increased the 10mm to 8 wicket, it might have been a nice, challenging, or even, wicket. “Groundsmen are always learning, and maybe he’ll take something from that.”

After day one, former England captain Michael Vaughan had criticized the MCG pitch, claiming that it had “done too much” and that the end result was an unfair “contest between bat and ball.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) assigns a rating to pitches and outfields that have hosted international competitions.

The MCG pitch received a “poor” rating for being too friendly for batting following the 2017 Ashes Test on this ground. England’s Alastair Cook recorded an unbeaten 244 during the entire Test, taking just 24 wickets overall.

Joe Root, an England batter who also played in 2017, stated that this pitch was “challenging to bat on.”

The question is, “Is it too one-sided to bat v. ball,” That is more highly regarded, “said Root,” in my opinion. From my perspective, it was undoubtedly challenging.