Matt Page, curator of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has finally opened up about the recent stadium controversy surrounding the Indian cricket team. Baig defended the decision to award the practice wicket used to Team India during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Tensions between the Indian team management and the MCG groundskeeper came to light when Rohit Sharma and Akash Deb were hit hard while netting. The Men in Blue were provided with used pitches while the Australian team used the new pitches for training.
However, fast bowler Akash Deb later settled the issue claiming that such things are common during net sessions and that he and Rohit Sharma are fit. Akash also mentioned that the bounce of the pitch is low due to its preparation for white-ball matches.
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MCG curator breaks silence on Indian practices stirring controversy
MCG general secretary Matt Page defended the decision to award the used wickets to the Indian team. Page mentioned the protocol Earth follows. He claimed that the Men in Blue would have been given a new wicket had they trained on Monday morning, three days before the match.
“For us, after three days, we are setting up test pitches here. “If teams come and train before then, they will get the same pitches that we have,” Page defended the MCG's decision.
“Today, we are in new stadiums. If India had trained on (Monday) morning, they would have trained in those new stadiums – it is standard procedure for us, after three days of training,” he told reporters.
While the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is ongoing, Australia's premier T20 competition Big Bash League is also being held. Melbourne has already hosted one match in the tournament so far. It will not host any further games before the Boxing Day Test.
How will the MCG show behave?
When Matt Page was asked about the nature of the pitch, he replied that it would provide speed and bounce and there would be less help for the spinners. The ground has received the highest rating from the ICC in the last two years and Page wants to continue doing so.
“We have seen three great Test matches so far (in the series) on three great pitches. For us, we are trying to do something similar to what we have done in the last two years and create an exciting contest,” Page said.
“We'll just be monitoring (the pitch) – as we know in Melbourne, the weather can change very quickly. Maybe that means it might pick up (the pace) a little quicker than if it was 20 (degrees Celsius).” Whether we leave more moisture in, I can't say at this point, he explained.
India's record at MCG
The Men in Blue have a good record on this ground overall. They have played 14 Tests at this ground with 4 wins, 8 losses and 2 draws. India have won on the last two occasions they have traveled to Australia for Test cricket.
In the 2018-19 season, they won by 137 runs under Virat Kohli. During the 2020-21 tour, the Men in Blue won by 8 wickets under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane.