Melbourne Cricket Ground receives official ICC warning for ‘poor’ pitch

The Melbourne Cricket Ground drew criticism after the drawn Ashes Test between Australia and England saw only 24 wickets fall over five days.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has received an official warning after the pitch for the fourth Ashes test was rated ‘poor’ by the International Cricket Council (ICC) earlier this month.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground hosted the Boxing Day Test which featured the only draw of the 2017-18 Ashes series that saw Australia beat England 4-0. (Getty Images)

The track drew criticism from both teams after the drawn clash between Australia and England saw only 24 wickets fall over five days, the only stalemate in a series dominated 4-0 by the hosts as they regained the urn.

Australia scored 327 and 263 for four declared, while England scored 491 in their only innings, with match referee Ranjan Madugalle saying in his report that the surface did not allow for an even contest between bat and ball.

Cricket Australia (CA) did not contest the rating given by Madugalle, the governing body said in a statement.

“Cricket Australia... highlighted that the ground is a frequently used venue that has no history of preparing poor pitches for international cricket,” the ICC said.

The Melbourne test was the last to be rated under the ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process, with a revision of the system coming into effect from Jan. 4.

Under the new process, if a pitch or outfield is rated as being substandard, that venue will be allocated a number of demerit points, which will be active for a five-year period.

The MCG will host the first one-day international between Australia and England on Sunday.