Australia's Alex Carey, second left, watches out England's Ben Stokes, second right, on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
The fourth Test between Australia and England at the MCG finished in a couple of days. The wicket had plenty of grass on it, and the seamers could extract a lot out of the pitch, moving the ball both ways, making it impossible for the batters to score big runs. As a result, batters too started to play their shots, worried about that magic delivery that would come their way. Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott was critical of the MCG curator.
“The pitch had too much grass on it and failed the standard expected for a five-day Test. Batting became a lottery and all the seam bowlers had to do was get the ball straight, on a full length and let that pitch do the rest for them,” Boycott wrote in his column in The Telegraph.
“That is not good enough and the curator should be held to account by his bosses. No excuses are acceptable. Talk of him being worried about the very hot weather later in the Test will not wash, as it was all over before the sun arrived,” he added.
Brydon Carse managed to pick four wickets in the 2nd innings of the MCG Test, and Boycott appreciated Carse’s efforts in his column. “I have written throughout the series that Brydon Carse has a big heart but he was banging the ball into the pitch too short and going for too many runs. This time, he put the ball in good areas and earned his reward with four wickets. The one he bowled Travis Head with was perfect as it pitched on the stumps, seamed away and hit the top of off stump. It was a corker and Head gave him a nod of approval as he passed him on his way out as if to say, ‘I can’t play that mate’”.