The hallowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground has come under fierce criticism from some of the game's most revered figures after a chaotic opening day of the Boxing Day Ashes Test saw an astonishing 20 wickets tumble.
Record Crowd Witnesses Batting Carnage
A monumental official crowd of 94,199 packed into the MCG, setting a new attendance record for the iconic venue and surpassing the mark set during the 2015 Cricket World Cup final. Yet the spectators were treated to a brutal exhibition of batting fragility on a green-tinged pitch offering extravagant seam movement.
In a scarcely believable throwback, both sides were bowled out on the first day of an Ashes Test for the first time since 1909. Australia, having been inserted, were dismissed for 152. England, with a chance to salvage pride in a lost series, fared even worse, capitulating for a paltry 110 in just 29.5 overs – their lowest total of the so-called 'Bazball' era.
Verdict from the Commentary Box: 'An Unfair Contest'
The reaction from former players in the commentary booths was swift and damning. Michael Vaughan, the 2005 Ashes-winning England captain, labelled the surface a "shocker" on Fox Sports.
His sentiment was echoed by Sir Alastair Cook, who famously scored 244 not out on the same ground in 2017. On BBC's Test Match Special, Cook stated: "We have to talk a little bit about this wicket. It’s been too heavily weighted towards the bowlers." He described watching Mitchell Starc's spell as an impossible challenge for batters, concluding it was "a bit of an unfair contest."
Even former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting questioned the preparation, noting the pitch had 10mm of grass left on it compared to 7mm for a Test that went five days last year. England's Stuart Broad summed up the bowlers' view on SEN Radio, saying: "It has just done far too much. Test match bowlers don’t need this amount of movement to look threatening."
Financial and Sporting Repercussions
The dramatic collapse of batting on day one raises the spectre of another abbreviated Test match, following a two-day finish in Perth earlier in the series. Such short matches deliver a severe financial blow to Cricket Australia, with the Perth game estimated to have cost at least £1.5 million in lost ticket sales alone, plus further revenue hits from concessions and hospitality.
While Australia ended the day in a commanding position, 46 runs ahead with all ten second-innings wickets in hand, the overarching narrative was one of a pitch that denied a balanced contest between bat and ball, leaving legends of the sport and a record crowd longing for a more traditional Boxing Day battle.
