After beating South Africa in the 1st test at the Gabba in Brisbane, the Australian team would want to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead by winning the Boxing Day test in Melbourne. The first test was over in 2 days, and the pitch at the MCG will be looked at with keen interest this time around.
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The track at the Gabba was incredibly difficult for the batters, ICC termed it as a ‘below average’ wicket as well. With the test ending in under two days, the broadcasters also lost out on a large chunk of ad revenue, ad it was a very big commercial loss.
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Steve Smith has also said that he wants a little easier track at the MCG for batting. The Boxing Day tests always produce large numbers of crowd at the MCG, and the audience would want to see a fair bit of contest between the bat and the ball.
Steve Smith calls for a balanced MCG pitch for Boxing Day test
Australian batter Steve Smith wants a balanced track in Brisbane after the Gabba’s track was termed ‘below average’ by ICC. He said that the Brisbane wicket was the most difficult track he has batted on in Australia, and he wants the bowl to move a little less on Boxing day.
South African captain Dean Elgar called Brisbane’s pitch ‘dangerous’ to bat on, but Smith said that he cannot judge whether the pitch was unsafe to play, but it was very tough for the batters due to variable bounce on the track.
“As a batter I’d like it to do a little bit less,” Steve Smith said to the reporters.
“I think it’s a fine balance just trying to get that even contest between bat and ball. It [the Gabba] was probably the most difficult wicket I’ve played on here in Australia.”
MCG hosted the Ashes test between England and Australia last year on Boxing Day and that test was also dominated by the pacers, where Australia thrashed England by an inning and 14 runs. It is safe to say that Cricket Australia would not want that kind of pitch yet again this time around.
