MELBOURNE, Dec 29 (Reuters) - The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) pitch for the Boxing Day test between Australia and England has been given an "unsatisfactory" rating after 20 wickets fell in the first three sessions and the match was wrapped up inside two days.
England won the low-scoring fourth Ashes test by four wickets on a minefield of a pitch, with the premature finish leaving Cricket Australia (CA) millions of dollars out of pocket.
"The MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers," match referee Jeff Crowe said in a statement issued by the governing International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday.
"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 MCG's demerit point will stand for the next five years. A venue accruing six demerit points in a five-year period leads to a one-year ban on hosting an international cricket match.
Curator Matt Page was left in a "state of shock" at the breakneck pace of the match on a greentop where MCG staff had left 10 millimetres of grass - three mm taller than last year's Boxing Day test.
CA Chief of Cricket James Allsopp said the pitch did not provide the MCG’s customary balance between bat and ball but was confident the issue would not be repeated.
“We’re confident they will deliver first-rate surfaces for next year’s Boxing Day test against New Zealand and the hugely anticipated 150th anniversary test against England in March 2027,” he added.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Peter Rutherford)
