The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced that the Melbourne pitch used for the fourth Test between Australia and England has been rated “poor” under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process. ICC Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle submitted his report to the ICC expressing the concerns of the match officials over the performance of the pitch which saw Australia scoring 327 and 263 for four declared, and England scoring 491 in their only innings.
“The bounce of the MCG pitch was medium, but slow in pace and got slower as the match progressed. The nature of the pitch did not change over the five days and there was no natural deterioration. As such, the pitch did not allow an even contest between the bat and the ball as it neither favoured the batsmen too much nor it gave the bowlers sufficient opportunity to take wickets” Madugalle wrote in his report.
