‘Please don’t complain’: Melbourne Ashes Test finishes inside two days, why no pitch talk? Reserved just for India?

Roll the clock back two months. Just take your mind back to the Kolkata Test between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens, where the hosts failed to chase down 124 in the final innings, losing the match inside two and a half days. Do you remember the talk around the 22 yards? It is still as fresh as a daisy. From every corner of the world, there was a conversation about the track not being ideal for Test cricket as it offered way too much assistance for the spinners by dishing up and down bounce right from ball number one.

The chatter is more or the same when Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh play Tests on home soil. On most occasions, the Test rarely extends into the fourth and fifth days. The World Test Championship (WTC) has compelled all Test-playing nations to devise pitches that can produce results and eliminate draws from the equation.

However, for time immemorial, the pitch chatter has managed to evade South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England, even if the 22 yards are dangerous to play upon. Remember the January 2024 Test between India and South Africa, which was completed in just 1.5 days? Australia has also done away with traditional pitches, which offered assistance with the new ball but then settled down, allowing the batsmen to take control.

In the last few years, several Tests Down Under have been completed within three days. Most recently, the Ashes opener between Australia and England at the Perth Stadium got done inside two days. Now the fourth Ashes Test has also been concluded within the same time frame. A total of 20 wickets fell on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, while Day 2 (eventually the final day of the game) saw Australia once again being bundled out for 132. England eventually chased down the target of 175 to gain their first win of the series, but it only came after they dished out the regular vigours of Test cricket and went out all guns blazing in trying to get to the total.

Imagine the social media discourse had this number of wickets fallen within the first two days of a Test. All hell would have broken loose. Yes, there are several pundits, such as Michael Vaughan, Kevin Pietersen, and Aakash Chopra, who have raised their voices in venting frustration against the Melbourne pitch, but the number still remains quite low. When India and the Proteas played out a Test on a below-par pitch at the Eden Gardens, every fan had an opinion. You just need to open X (formerly Twitter) to realise how the yardsticks are 360 degrees opposite between Asian pitches and SENA pitches.

Monty Panesar calls out hypocrisy

Hindustan Times spoke to former England spinner Monty Panesar about the growing hypocrisy surrounding pitches, and he minced no words in saying that if people are to remain quiet about the Melbourne pitch, then they need to zip it, even if there is assistance for spinners on the opening day of a Test.

“When in India, we can see wickets falling, let’s say, 15-16 wickets in a day. Everyone says, Oh, the ball shouldn’t be turning on day one. Then why is the ball seaming so much? And this is not great for Ashes cricket. If Test cricket is to survive, Ashes cricket needs to last at least four to five days. And if you’re going to have, like, a two-day Test match, it’s like, the Perth Test match and the Brisbane Test match, in record, are the two top games where we lost 18-19 wickets, where the Australian comes in the top five,” Panesar told Hindustan Times.

“Well, how many wickets are lost in a day? Well, the other three Test matches were in the early 90s, about 100 years ago. Do you understand? So, what I’m trying to say is, if cricket is to survive, then you shouldn’t have two-day Test matches. This is not good for the Ashes brand, nor is it good for Test cricket. And then the other argument is, well, if the ball turns on the first day, and I’m from a spinner’s point of view, then please don’t complain the ball’s turning too much, because today, it’s seaming way too much,” he added.

Panesar also put the Australian team under scrutiny, questioning the need for a 10mm grass pitch, saying the hosts had already won the Ashes, so they could have opted for a normal Test match pitch, which would have allowed the game to extend into days four and five.

Why do they even have 10-mil grass? If this Australian team has won the Ashes. They should have had at least 5-mil grass, not even 7-mil, so the Test match can last into the third or fourth day. And there’s no point being 5-mil and every Test match lasting two days,” said Panesar.

“That does nothing for Ashes cricket. That actually emphasises the point that Test cricket will then gradually lose people, bit by bit, because Ashes cricket doesn’t last at least 3-4 days. Every Test match needs to be that long because it’s just not good for the game,” he added.

The Test matches these days might be forcing more results, and there might be more entertainment for the fans worldwide, but one cannot deny that the fundamentals of the game are being toyed around, and the time has come for not giving the free hand for every host nation to prepare the pitch according to their own will and accord. It’s a World Test Championship (WTC), so perhaps the ICC can take control of the pitches under their jurisdiction, just as they do with the World Cups.