ICC makes SHOCKING decision on Melbourne pitch after Boxing Day Test

The fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England in Melbourne ended in just two days. A total of 36 wickets fell in the two days of play. However, England won the game by four wickets. Questions are now being raised about the Melbourne pitch after the match. Several cricket experts have criticized the pitch. The ICC has also now given its verdict on the pitch.

After the two-day Test match, the ICC has rated the pitch for the fourth Ashes Test as the worst pitch in Australia under the current rating system. The ICC has issued a notice to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Match referee Jeff Crowe gave the wicket, on which 36 wickets fell in two days, an “unsatisfactory” rating.

This is the second-lowest rating in the four-tier system. The previous three Boxing Day pitches had received a “very good” rating. This decision means the MCG has received one demerit point from the ICC, which will remain on its record for five years. The venue would need to accumulate five more demerit points in the next five years to face a ban from hosting international matches.

Under the ICC’s criteria, an unsatisfactory rating is given to a pitch that “does not provide a fair contest between bat and ball, unduly favoring the bowlers and offering excessive opportunities for wicket-taking, either through seam or spin.” This ICC decision is also significant because the second historically short Test of this series, the two-day match in Perth last month, which was completed with five balls remaining received full marks from the ICC.

Since the ICC changed its pitch rating system two years ago, no wicket in any international match played in Australia has ever been rated below “satisfactory.“

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