“They get what pitches we’ve had” - MCG curator defends reports of India getting flat pitch with low bounce ahead of BGT 2024-25 4th Test

Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) curator Matt Page has responded to rumors regarding the disparity of the practice pitches offered to India and Australia ahead of the Boxing Day Test. According to reports from Indian outlets, the visitors were unhappy with the quality of pitches that were offered to them, with the likes of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Akash Deep sustaining blows during a net session.

After a relatively amicable first half of the Border-Gavaskar series, there has been friction between the two sides in the lead-up to the fourth Test. The inciting incident occurred when Virat Kohli lashed out at Australian journalists for filming his family at the airport without permission. Tensions increased after Ravindra Jadeja and Akash Deep delivered their pre-match press conferences in Hindi, leaving the local journalists incensed.

Amid allegations of the practice pitches for India being low and slow, the curator assured that proper protocol was followed in the proceedings. The MCG allows practice on wickets close to the actual pitch in use - three days prior to a Test. Since the Boxing Day Test is slated to begin from Thursday onwards, India had the provision to play on the improved wickets from Monday onwards, which marked their rest day.

Matt Page said India had to play on pitches that were already in place because the improved wickets would be on offer only three days before the Test.

“For us, three days out, we prepare Test match pitches for here. If teams come and train before that, they get what pitches we have had. Today, we are on fresh pitches. If India had trained this morning, they would have been on those fresh pitches. It’s stock standard procedure for us, three days out," Matt Page said (via local newspaper WAtoday).

The MCG practice pitches already in use are understandably worn out as the venue hosted the ODI series opener between Pakistan and Australia last month, along with the BBL 2024-25 encounter between the Melbourne Stars and the Brisbane Heat.

"If you are a fast bowler, and you look it at, yeah, you probably do get excited" - MCG curator promises lively pitch for Boxing Day Test

The MCG has garnered a reputation for being a quick wicket in recent times. The venue recently hosted the second unofficial Test between India A and Australia A, a clash that saw Ruturaj Gaiwkad and company collapse to 11-4 in three overs. Pacers had almost all of the say in the first half of the clash.

A similar story had unfolded during the 2023-24 Boxing Day Test between Australia and Pakistan. The hosts were reduced to 16-4 in six overs in the second innings as Mir Hamza ran riot.

“I think all the quick bowlers get excited when they come here now. It gets through well for us. We are never going to be as quick as Perth or Brisbane, but over the last few years we have managed to get some pace into it, which has created that excitement," Page said in the same interview.

“There is a bit of grass on it. If you are a fast bowler, and you look it at, yeah, you probably do get excited," he concluded.

India have won two back-to-back Tests at the iconic venue while managing to sneak a draw in the 2014-2015 series. The Men in Blue's last defeat at MCG came during the 2011 tour, where they were ousted by 122 runs.