Ashes 2025-26: You don’t want a game finishing in less than two days, says Stokes on MCG pitch
Melbourne, Dec 27 ( IANS ) – England’s skipper Ben Stokes reflected on the conditions that made the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground seem to end too quickly. He cautioned that a game finished in less than two days would inevitably spark criticism worldwide, “When you go out there, and you’re faced with conditions, you’ve got to crack on and deal with it. But, being brutally honest, that’s not really what you want. A Boxing Day Test match, you don’t want a game finishing in less than two days.”
Stokes added, “Not ideal, but you can’t change it once you start the game, and you’ve just got to play what’s in front of you. But I’m pretty sure if that was somewhere else in the world…” The wicket at the MCG was left with 10 mm of grass, a decision that yielded a total of 36 wickets in just six sessions.
England captured victory after 14 years away from a Test win in Australia. Australia were bowled out for 132 in their second innings, setting England target of 175. The hosts claimed the win with six wickets in hand, their fourth win in the series.
Australia’s acting skipper Steve Smith raised concerns about the pitch preparation, saying he was “not sure” why the head groundsman Matthew Page had left such a large amount of grass on the surface. The wicket was slated to be discussed by Page with the media on Sunday.
Smith remarked, “We let them judge it and do what they see fit. I said before the game that it looked like it was going to offer a fair amount, and it probably did more than we thought it was going to. It’s tough as a groundsman, I think he’s always looking for the right balance. I suppose last year’s wicket was an outstanding one, it went to day five (in the) last session. In an ideal world, every wicket does that, and it’s exciting for everyone. Maybe if you took it from 10 (mm) to eight, it would have been a nice, challenging wicket, make it a little bit more even, I suppose. But groundsmen are always learning, and he’ll probably take something from that, no doubt,” he added.
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