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***Official*** 4th Test at the MCG

quincywagstaff

quincywagstaff

International Debutant
I reckon the MCG has been coasting a bit on its reputation for a while now; automatically thinking that because it calls itself one of the world's great stadiums that it doesn't matter whether they do the little things right.

I've had some hassles over the past few years with various aspects of using the ground when going there for cricket games; as someone who goes there a fair bit for footy it seems that they take cricket fans for granted (because footy brings in the big money).

For example, I arrived at the ground on Day 2 at around 10:30 with a pre-purchased ticket yet there were massive lines at the gate I was at because they didn't have enough security people there to check bags and the like. They did get some people there fairly quickly but it was pretty poor that they weren't prepared when they knew a big crowd was arriving.
 
quincywagstaff

quincywagstaff

International Debutant
As for the pitch, while I agree that it was a poor one and the debate over pitch preparation post-match is a good sign, I think the reaction to it from the Oz media has been a bit over-the-top.

I just reckon we overreact too much whenever there's a match in Oz that peters out to a draw; it's very rare in the past decade for Tests in Oz that aren't rain-affected to finish in a draw (6-7 by my count) and the hysteria over this match being a fizzer I think is reflective of the perspective of journos who watch and write about cricket constantly and therefore they're probably a bit jaded already so when a bad match occurs, they tend to overemphasise it. Yes, I even heard on one podcast the mention of how Test cricket's future is uncertain because of matches like this. Do these people realise how knee-jerk they sound when making these proclamations?

Sure the pitch and match was a disappointment but the proportion of draws being played out in the past decade is far less than was occurring in the 1980s. One bad match won't end Test cricket no matter how many retweets you get.
 
Furball

Furball

Evil Scotsman
Pitches in Australia have been largely shite for years, but you've had the bowling attack to force results so no-one really notices. A pitch has to be ****ing horrendous for it to be a draw.
 
S.Kennedy

S.Kennedy

International Vice-Captain
Yes, I have always accepted bad and overpriced food at sporting venues, e.g., football's obligatory rancid old pie, as par for the course.
 
Spark

Spark

Global Moderator
MCG on notice after ICC rates pitch 'poor' | cricket.com.au

A nice surprise.

This is interesting:

From January 1, international grounds that produce inferior pitches will incur two demerit points if deemed ‘below average’ by the match referee, three points for pitches rated ‘poor’ and five points for those classified as ‘unfit’.

Furthermore, any venue that accumulates five demerit points over a rolling five-year period will be banned from hosting any international matches for 12 months while a ground that racks up 10 demerit points will have its right to stage Tests and limited-overs fixtures stripped for two years.
Click to expand...
 
GotSpin

GotSpin

Hall of Fame Member
quincywagstaff said:
As for the pitch, while I agree that it was a poor one and the debate over pitch preparation post-match is a good sign, I think the reaction to it from the Oz media has been a bit over-the-top.

I just reckon we overreact too much whenever there's a match in Oz that peters out to a draw; it's very rare in the past decade for Tests in Oz that aren't rain-affected to finish in a draw (6-7 by my count) and the hysteria over this match being a fizzer I think is reflective of the perspective of journos who watch and write about cricket constantly and therefore they're probably a bit jaded already so when a bad match occurs, they tend to overemphasise it. Yes, I even heard on one podcast the mention of how Test cricket's future is uncertain because of matches like this. Do these people realise how knee-jerk they sound when making these proclamations?

Sure the pitch and match was a disappointment but the proportion of draws being played out in the past decade is far less than was occurring in the 1980s. One bad match won't end Test cricket no matter how many retweets you get.
Click to expand...
Obviously calling the death of test cricket is a staple for any cricket journalist, but I think it's about time CA got a kick up the bum for the pitches they have been rolling out for years.
 
Starfighter

Starfighter

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Can anyone think of any other especially lifeless pitches that have been rated poor? This one certainly deserved it. If our middle-lower order hadn't displayed all the discipline of a 12 year old with ADHD I doubt there would have been two completed innings.
 
Spark

Spark

Global Moderator
Starfighter said:
Can anyone think of any other especially lifeless pitches that have been rated poor? This one certainly deserved it. If our middle-lower order hadn't displayed all the discipline of a 12 year old with ADHD I doubt there would have been two completed innings.
Click to expand...
Trent Bridge a few years back when Anderson got 81
 
Adders

Adders

Cricketer Of The Year
Yeah but it still seems to be a farcical penalty..........how the **** could they ever ban the MCG from hosting a test match?? Or any other major iconic ground for that matter. It will just be a rule that potentially could affect the minor grounds but never the big boys.
 
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