AUS vs NZ | Cricket Australia optimistic about MCG pitch for Boxing Day Test
Despite a Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and Western Australia being abandoned for ‘dangerous pitch’ condition in MCG, Cricket Australia is confident of preparations for the Boxing Day Test at the venue. The second Test of the New Zealand Test is set to start from 26 December at the MCG.
The iconic venue of MCG has been facing a lot of criticism for its pitch condition review by ICC in the last few years but its reputation hit a low when a Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and Western Australia was abandoned due to the ‘dangerous’ behaviour of the pitch.
After Australian cricketers unequivocally supporting MCG for hosting the traditional Boxing Day Test match, Cricket Australia(CA) chief Kevin Roberts expressed his faith on the MCG curator Matt Page to deliver a sporting pitch for the Australian cricket’s showpiece event.
"We're really keen to ensure that the MCC doesn't overreact to the situation in the last Shield game. The great news was that no players were injured in that situation and we learnt a lot from it,” Roberts said on Wednesday (December 18).
"They're not overreacting and Matt Page is a master of his craft. We're looking forward to him expressing that with his team in the Boxing Day pitch. We're really confident that there won't be an overreaction and that we'll see a better balance between bat and ball at the MCG,” he added.
It is learnt that after curator Matt Page took over the responsibility of the MCG pitch, he has made a few changes like replacing concrete base with sand underneath the turf. MCG has always been the hosts for the Boxing day Test, as it has become a tradition of its own for the Australian players and taking it away from Boxing day would be a dissapointment for the players.
"The condition of pitches at the MCG has been on a significant increase over the last period of time since Matt and the team took the concrete base out from underneath the pitches and replaced it with sand. The feedback from the curators is that it feels different to roll, the feedback from the players is that it feels different and even sounds different to play on. It sounds like a proper turf wicket now, rather than something that's more like a concrete deck, so we're really optimistic about Boxing Day," Roberts opined.
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