‘Pitch would have been questioned if this happened in India’:From Kelvin Pietersen to Dinesh Karthik, experts share reaction after Boxing Day Test in Melbourne

The fourth Test of the Ashes series ended in just two days. On Saturday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, England defeated Australia by 4 wickets. The match ended in 852 balls. In terms of balls bowled, this is the fourth shortest Test in the 143-year history of this series. On the second day of this match, 16 wickets fell, while 20 wickets had fallen on the first day. No batsman could cross the 50-run mark in this match. Moreover, none of the 4 innings crossed the 200-run mark. As a result, questions are being raised about the Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch. England’s former captains Kevin Pietersen, Michael Vaughan, and Dinesh Karthik have raised questions on social media. England’s former captain Vaughan wrote – ‘Is this a pitch or a joke?’ England’s former cricketer Pietersen said – ‘If this had happened in India, there would have been criticism.’ 35 out of 36 wickets went to pacers in the Boxing Day Test
The decision to leave 10mm of grass on the MCG pitch greatly benefited the fast bowlers. This made batting difficult. In this match, fast bowlers took 35 wickets, while one batter was run out. The first three matches of the Ashes also lasted a total of 11 days. Thus, in the current series, only 13 days of play were possible out of the total 20 match days. The first Test match played in Perth also ended in two days. Kelvin Peterson wrote – ‘Australia should also be criticised’
Former England captain Peterson wrote on X, ”When many wickets fall on the first day of a Test match in India, India always faces harsh criticism. So I hope Australia will face the same kind of criticism. Justice should be equal for all.” Dinesh Karthik wrote – ‘It was an ordinary pitch’
Former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Karthik said, ”The MCG pitch looks ordinary. Can’t believe that two Tests out of four Ashes Tests finished in just two days. Despite so much discussion, four Ashes Tests were completed in just 13 days.” Indian pitches were criticised
Peterson and Karthik’s jibe was about how Indian spinners and pitches often face harsh criticism when this happens in Asia. For example, during the 2020-21 series, experts heavily criticised England’s failure to face Indian spinners on the turning pitch in Ahmedabad. England’s team had won the first Test in Chennai, but their batting completely flopped against Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel in the next three Test matches. However, there hasn’t been much outrage regarding the pace-friendly pitches in the Ashes. Michael Vaughan said – ‘This is an injustice to the game’
England’s former captain Michael Vaughan said, ”Is this a pitch or a joke? This is injustice to the game. 26 wickets falling in 98 overs is not good for players, broadcasters and most importantly for the fans.” Aakash Chopra’s question – ‘Spinners didn’t bowl a single over’
India’s former opening batsman Aakash Chopra said, ”Spinners haven’t bowled a single over in one and a half days of the Test match. Just imagine what uproar there would be if fast bowlers didn’t bowl a single over for this long in the subcontinent.” Cricket Australia admitted the mistake
Cricket Australia (CA) CEO Todd Greenberg also said that matches ending in such short duration are not good for the future of Test cricket and CA will consider taking a more active role in pitch preparation in the future. Greenberg said, ”As a fan it was exciting, interesting and enjoyable to watch, but we definitely want Test matches to last longer. I couldn’t sleep last night. He said, ‘We have taken a non-interference approach in pitch preparation matters from the beginning, but when you see its impact on the commercial aspect of the game, it becomes difficult to completely ignore pitch preparation.”