Life’s a pitch for the MCG

England’s Jacob Bethell takes evasive action on the controversial Melbourne pitch during the second day of the fourth Ashes Test match on December 27. Pic/Getty Images

Not for the first time has the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) pitch been the focus of attention. The recent Ashes Test match there was a joke which didn't amuse either spectators or pundits, who got just two days of action. England with their trademark Bazball approach won in the end, and all that this two-day finish did was to infuse a little life into an otherwise one-sided Ashes series. The extra grass kept by the curator tilted the game totally in favour of the bowlers and proved to be a nightmare for the batsmen.

Rarely does Australian cricket provide an example of a comedy of errors. The Australian pitch authorities didn't want to repeat what happened in the 2017-18 Ashes Test, where only 24 wickets fell across five days in a dull draw, but look what happened here. Cricket lovers have always welcomed speed, be it from fast bowlers or the fast pace of the game, but things went too far in the last Boxing Day Test; the charm of Test cricket blown away by a vicious storm.

The MCG pitch also came into sharp focus across the 1980-81 season. Prior to that, the Test match in 1954-55, when Australia were beaten by a typhoon who answered to the name of Frank Tyson. This writer witnessed a pitch-related controversy while reporting on the 2003-04 India vs Australia Test at the MCG. After stumps on Day Four, the groundstaff accidentally removed a portion of the turf during maintenance. The next morning, curator Tony Ware was seen doing some patchwork that caught the attention of umpire Billy Bowden. Match referee Mike Procter ordered Ware to undo the patchwork as no part of the pitch, however small, can be touched. The Australian camp was unaffected. "It was an honest mistake. You can't read anything into that and it didn't affect the outcome of the game," skipper Steve Waugh told the media after Australia won by nine wickets. His counterpart Sourav Ganguly stressed that what happened didn't align with the rules of the game, when asked about the incident in his post-match interaction with the media. "The laws of the game are clear. Pitch tampering is illegal," said Ganguly.

In the media room, England batting great Geoff Boycott, one of the commentators for the series, remarked, "If any Indian or Pakistani would have done a thing like that, he would be called a cheat."

The late Tyson, who was following the Test match from his Gold Coast dwelling in Queensland, told me over the phone: "It is illegal to tamper with the wicket and that is that," said Tyson, who had helped the Indian fast bowlers gear up for the series in Brisbane. He continued, "Procter [match referee Mike] says there is nothing malicious, but why do something wrong? What stopped the curator from consulting Procter?" It didn't take the fast bowling terror long to recall what happened in the 1954. "When England came back after their rest day on Sunday, they noticed that all the cracks on the wicket which were there on Saturday, had vanished. There were pieces coming off the wicket when Australia bowled. But suddenly, the cracks disappeared," revealed Tyson, who claimed 7-27 to bowl out Australia for 111 after being 75-2 at one stage. Reportedly, the MCG the groundsman watered the pitch which he was not supposed to do, but the cracks reappeared and Tyson emerged the hero. Alan Davidson, Australia's premier all-rounder said in the Cricket in the 1950s documentary that England batted on two perfect pitches while Australia batted on two pitches that had cracks. Tyson didn't believe the track played a big role in his success. He told a reporter while relaxing after the Test that though a few balls "flew," he was lucky to taste success. As for the MCG pitch, the experts wanted to see a change. Celebrated writer Ray Robinson's report in The Central Queensland Herald said: "If the Melbourne cricket authorities want a return to high scoring and long partnerships they will have to continue their efforts to improve the wicket. But whether the restoration of a truer and more durable surface would suit the public is another matter."

In 1980-81, the MCG pitch certainly did not suit Greg Chappell, the Australian captain, who called the bounce "ridiculously irregular" in his book Unders and Overs - The Controversies of Cricket. The season was a forgettable one for Chappell - taxing schedule, the Melbourne Test loss to India and finally the underarm incident that involved ordering younger brother Trevor to bowl underarm in order to deny New Zealand from gaining a tied result in a B&H World Series Cup game at the MCG. Of the pitch dished out for the third and final Test against India, Chappell wrote: "That wicket was probably the worst we'd seen all summer. It was very moist on the first day and not so bad on the second, but it got lower and lower as the game went on. That's no excuse for our final day batting debacle and inglorious defeat. None at all. We should have got those 143 runs despite the conditions."

Chappell doesn't bat anymore, doesn't lead Australia anymore, but he continues to write. In his recent column for ESPNCricinfo, he called the Ashes Test MCG pitch "perhaps a day shy of ideal." However, he slammed the players. "They [players] behaved like novices encountering adversity for the first time, oblivious to the blood, sweat, and sheer will power that have sustained Test cricket through far worse trails." Chappell did not bring up 1980-81 in his piece, but I'd be surprised if that tumultuous season didn't cross his mind.

mid-day's Deputy Editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance.
He tweets @ClaytonMurzello, Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper.