Cricket - The Ashes - Australia v England - Fourth Test - Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia - December 27, 2025 England's Ben Stokes reacts after winning the match REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
MELBOURNE, Dec 27 (Reuters) - No fewer than 36 wickets fell during two chaotic days in the fourth Ashes test, leaving the captains of both Australia and England unimpressed with the Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch.
England completed a four-wicket win late on day two for their first test victory in the country in 15 years but skipper Ben Stokes was scathing of the surface, even after his batters chased down 175 runs for victory.
Stokes told reporters his feedback to the match referee would not be the best for a pitch that had a centimetre of grass left by the curator on the morning of day one.
"When you go out there and you're faced with conditions, you've got to crack on and deal with it," Stokes told reporters.
"But being brutally honest, that's not really what you want.
"Boxing Day test match, you don't want a game finishing in less than two days. Not ideal."
England were bowled out for 110 in reply to Australia's first innings 152 on day one, with poor shot-making only a small part of the overall story.
Australia were skittled for 132 in their second innings in the middle session on day two before England finished victorious on 178 for six.
Last year's Melbourne test between Australia and India had about 7mm of grass left on the wicket initially and lasted deep into day five.
Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith offered a lukewarm defence of MCG curator Matt Page, saying it was a delicate balance for ground staff to strike.
But with day three tickets sold out at the 100,000-seat stadium, Saturday was a bad day for the local game, with Cricket Australia to forgo millions in revenue.
It was another costly blow following the two-day series-opener in Perth.
"In terms of the wicket, it was obviously a tricky one," Smith told reporters.
"Thirty-six wickets over two days (it) probably offered just a little bit too much.
"Obviously finances aren't great. I think it was a sell-out tomorrow if we got there. So, yeah, disappointing for those (fans) that wanted to come along."
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
