Elite Bowlers are Thrilled to Visit the MCG, Says Curator

Melbourne: The weather in Melbourne has quickly changed since the team arrived, dropping from a scorching 37 degrees Celsius to a more comfortable 18 degrees Celsius on Monday. In a city known for experiencing three seasons in a day, it's no surprise. While most people adapt and carry on, the curator of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Matt Page, has his work cut out for him.

It rained on Sunday evening and Monday was cool which meant there was more moisture around than usual, and that in turn meant that the preparation of the pitch would need to be carefully monitored. Overall, though, the pitch is on the track that Page wanted.

“We have been happy with what we have served up in the last couple of years and we don’t see any reason to change that. Seven years ago, the pitch was quite flat. We sat down as an organisation and said we want to create more exciting Tests, so we leave more grass on now. And that brings the bowlers into it a bit more, but the surface is still good for batting once the new ball goes off. We have been running at six millimetres of grass and we will monitor that,” he said on Monday.

To be fair, the wicket at Adelaide also had 6 mm of grass and that is what they maintain for Sheffield Shield games too. So, it isn’t anything out of the ordinary. Page was asked if Jasprit Bumrah, the standout bowler in the series so far, would be pleased with the pitch prepared.

“All the good bowlers get excited when they come here now. It gets through well for us,” Page said. “We’re never going to be as quick as Perth and Brisbane, but over the last few years we’ve managed to get some pace in it, which has created that excitement. There’s a bit of grass on it. If you’re a fast bowler and you look at it, you probably do get excited.”

Page doesn’t expect the heat spell forecast over the next couple of days to affect the pitch preparation unduly.

“It probably means it might quicken up a bit than what it would have if it was 20 (degrees Celsius),” he said. “Whether we leave a bit more moisture in it, I can’t say yes or no at this stage. We’ve been really happy with the last couple of years, so it’s a rinse-and-repeat job for us.”

Page’s words won’t be received with great enthusiasm by batters on either side. Most of them have been struggling and another helpful wicket will mean that this might once again turn into a battle between two of the best bowling attacks in the world.

Only seven of the 93 wickets taken in the first three Tests fell to spin, and Page expects the MCG pitch too to offer little for the slow bowlers. The spinner playing has been mostly about the over rates for now.

Old pitches for India?

On Sunday, Akash Deep had dismissed any concerns around injuries to himself (hand) and captain Rohit Sharma (left knee) after they were hit while batting in the nets. He had also mentioned that the low bounce might have been because they were prepared for white-ball cricket.

“Such minor wounds are not anything unusual when you are playing cricket. It’s not a big concern,” he reassured the media. “But I felt the practice wicket was meant for the white ball and was keeping low. It was difficult to leave. But there are no concerns at all.”

However, Page cleared the air over why India have played on used pitches in the practice sessions.

“Three days out, we prepare Test match pitches. If teams come and train before that, they get what pitches we’ve had. It’s stock-standard procedure for us,” he said.

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