ICC puts MCG on notice as Aussies back 'outstanding' Page

The pitch for the fourth Ashes Test has been deemed the worst produced in Australia under the current ratings system as the Melbourne Cricket Ground was put on notice by the International Cricket Council.

As Australia coach Andrew McDonald today offered his strong support for MCG curator Matt Page, the ICC has confirmed match referee Jeff Crowe rated the wicket that saw 36 wickets fall in two days as "unsatisfactory".

It is the second lowest rating on the four-tiered system (above only "unfit"), which the ICC has updated since the ground received a "poor" rating for its 2017-18 Ashes pitch. The last three Boxing Day pitches received "very good" ratings.

"The MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers," Crowe reported in an official ICC statement.

"With 20 wickets falling on the first day, 16 on the second day and no batter even reaching a half-century, the pitch was ‘Unsatisfactory’ as per the guidelines and the venue gets one demerit point.”

The judgement means the MCG has been given one demerit point by the ICC that will stay on record for five years. The venue would need to be hit with another five demerit points in the next five years to be banned from hosting international matches, meaning Crowe's rating is essentially a minor ticking off.

But the rating confirms Cricket Australia and the Melbourne Cricket Club's concession in the aftermath of the MCG's shortest Test in almost a century that the pitch was substandard.

Under the ICC's metric, an unsatisfactory rating refers to a pitch that "does not allow an even contest between bat and ball…by favouring the bowlers too much, with too many wicket-taking opportunities for either seam or spin".

The verdict is significant given this series' other historically short Test, the two-day encounter in Perth last month which featured five less deliveries, was given full marks by the ICC, which rated that surface "very good".

McDonald, a former Victoria player and coach, issued a strident defence of Page on Monday, insisting the seam-friendly wicket needed to viewed in context of the MCG's bid to avoid a repeat of the flat 2017 Boxing Day pitch.

"He does an outstanding job," McDonald said of Page, who has also been lauded by MCC chief executive Stuart Fox as one of the country's best curators.

"The perspective that I always use is that we (the team) have bad Test matches as well. We had a bad Test match the first Test match last summer (against India).

"Sometimes these things can happen, but we support him in what he's done and really proud of the evolution of the MCG.

"Hopefully people can have some context around where he's been on the journey and support him for the next challenge that he faces."

CA's cricket chief James Allsopp said in a statement it was disappointing for day three and four ticket holders that the "pitch did not provide the MCG's customary balance between bat and ball.

"We appreciate the outstanding work the MCC staff have done over recent years producing excellent Test match pitches," said Allsopp.

"We're confident they will deliver first-rate surfaces for next year's NRMA Insurance Boxing Day Test against New Zealand and the hugely anticipated 150th Anniversary Test against England in March 2027."

Since the ICC overhauled its pitch rating system two years ago, no wicket for an international played in Australia has previously been rated below "satisfactory".

That has been a source of pride in this country, with last summer's Border-Gavaskar Trophy series seeing four of the five Test surfaces rated "very good". The SCG pitch, which will host the final Test of this ongoing Ashes campaign, was deemed "satisfactory".

"We encourage pitches that bring out the unique characteristics of that venue and this has long been a feature of Australian cricket," CA's operations boss Peter Roach said earlier this year.

"We strongly believe that this is one of the reasons that Test cricket is so popular in Australia.

"We don't look to prepare wickets that favour the home side or suit our situation in a series. What we seek is a good contest between bat and ball and pitches that are likely to produce a result."

CA chief executive Todd Greenberg has more recently suggested the organisation might be forced to take greater control over the preparation of Test pitches.

The pair of two-day Tests in this Ashes series are expected to cost the game more than $15 million.

"Clearly the preparation of wickets has such a material impact on us as a business, and so I don't think we can just simply sit around without asking some questions of ourselves," Greenberg told reporters on Sunday.

"What that looks like, I'm not sure. Don't get me wrong – you're not going to see us on the roller and trying to take over wicket preparation.

"We've been very good in this country at trusting those in each of our stadiums to prepare wickets with characteristics that are unique to each of them.

"I'm not suggesting we change that, but we want to have a little bit of insight into what we're about to expect and some of the expectations we will have at our venues. I don't know exactly how that will play out.

"But I don't think I can sit here with a straight face and say that we won't look at that given we've experienced two two-day Tests in the last four Tests."

2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men's Ashes

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Third Test: Australia won by 82 runs

Fourth Test: England won by four wickets

Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT

Australia squad (fourth Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue