The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) pitch has once again found itself at the centre of controversy after the Boxing Day Test ended inside two days, with England emerging victorious following a dramatic collapse that saw all 20 wickets fall on the opening day.
Batting proved a stern challenge throughout the contest. The ball swung prodigiously and seamed sharply off the surface, while uneven bounce made survival difficult even for set batters. Wickets fell in clusters, accelerating the match toward an early finish and reigniting concerns over the quality of Test pitches at marquee Australian venues.
Amid the growing debate, Sunil Gavaskar weighed in with his trademark wit and biting sarcasm, highlighting what he sees as clear double standards in how pitches are judged across countries.
Writing in his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar pointed out the irony surrounding pitch ratings, especially after the Perth Test surface earlier in the series was awarded a “very good” rating, despite widespread criticism from fans and former players.
“Another Test match in Australia has finished in less than two days of cricket. The Australian Cricket Board’s CEO says it is not good business, and most cricket fans in the sub-continent are screaming blue murder about the quality of the Melbourne pitch,” Gavaskar wrote.
“They were astonished when the first Test pitch in Perth was given a very good rating by match referee Ranjan Madugalle.”
A Dig at the Rating System
Gavaskar further poked fun at the subjectivity of pitch assessments, suggesting that a change in match referee could conveniently alter the verdict. With Jeff Crowe officiating the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, the Indian great quipped that the MCG pitch — where 36 wickets fell, compared to 32 in Perth — might lose the “very” and simply be rated “good.”
“Since there is a new match referee for the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, the rating could be different. Crowe might drop the word ‘very’ from the ‘very good’ that Madugalle gave Perth and rate the MCG pitch as good,” he added, before concluding dryly, “Surprises never cease.”
Gavaskar Calls Out Hypocrisy
In perhaps his most pointed remark, Gavaskar defended Australian curators while simultaneously calling out the harsh scrutiny Indian groundsmen often face. While acknowledging that pitch preparation errors can occur anywhere, he noted that Australian curators are rarely accused of deliberate manipulation.
“The curators, or the Director of Turf at the MCG, may make a human error and get it slightly wrong,” Gavaskar wrote.
“But they are not as devious as those ‘horrible groundsmen’ in India who do not even prepare a pitch and expect batters to score runs on them. Tut tut.”
Gavaskar’s tongue-in-cheek critique has added fuel to the ongoing debate, once again raising questions about consistency, transparency, and fairness in pitch evaluations — especially when iconic Test matches end far sooner than expected.
