There has always been a sense of anticipation surrounding the Boxing Day Test, at the colosseum that is the MCG in Australia. It seems more like a carnival than just a game of cricket played between two countries. This year, with India taking on Australia in a big-ticket series, it is expected to be a sell-out crowd. The build-up to the Test has been made spicier by a couple of media-related controversies. For a moment, leaving them aside, here is a lowdown on the salient features of the drop-in deck at the MCG.
Will it have enough pace and bounce? Will Matthew Page, the curator, leave enough grass on the surface? To understand this, one has to travel back in time to an Ashes Test in 2017-18. Just two of the four innings were completed, with the track providing very little assistance for both the pace bowlers and spinners. The pitch was rated poor by the ICC.
Since then, Page has tried to inject some life into the wicket. Scott Boland, who has played around 30 first-class games at the MCG, once said: “The last few years have been different to what it was before that. There’s a bit more grass on it now, much better carry, especially for day two. Sometimes, you rock up here and it looks like a one-day wicket.
“I think Pagey and the ground staff are doing a great job to bring a bit of life back to the ‘G and get some results because we had a few years there where we just played draw after draw out here. It’s nice to rock up to the ground and have the opportunity to take 20 wickets.”
Incidentally, during the 2021-22 first-class season, in one of the Sheffield Shield games between New South Wales and Victoria, Page left 12mm of grass. Even the Ashes Test between Australia and England that year had a fair amount of grass. Page has also experimented with the drop-in deck by bringing in steel trays.
The upcoming game between India and Australia may not have 10-12mm of grass, but it won’t be a surprise if there is some assistance for the pace bowlers over the first 25-30 overs. The general feeling is that the track offers a little more tennis-ball bounce.
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A combination of the odd ball staying low, alongside a decent covering of grass could bring a skiddy, kiss-the-surface seamer like Akash Deep into the equation. If you excavate some evidence, batters were dislodged by pacemen via the lbw and bowled modes of dismissal on 21 occasions over the last three Tests at the MCG. Most of those wickets have come in the second innings; a further indicator that a skiddy seamer could prove to be useful, especially in the second dig.
Meanwhile, the Indian batting unit has largely struggled to find its groove in this series so far. And they may not have it any easier at the MCG. With Josh Hazlewood again injured, Australia have also brought in Boland, who in turn has loads of experience of playing at the ground.
On a brighter note for the visitors, the series is still locked at 1-1. And India have a window of opportunity to carve out a path and take one step closer to sealing a historic third successive Test series win in Australia.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma Suffers Injury Scare; Indian Team Discontent with Practice Pitches at MCG