Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Elephant in the room: Can MCG curator be solely to blame?
SEN • December 29th, 2025 10:33 am
Bryce McGain says MCG curator Matt Page cannot be solely to blame for the two-day Ashes Test in Melbourne.
The pitch has come under fire after 36 wickets were lost inside two days of a Test that England won over Australia.
But former Aussie spinner McGain says perhaps the batters should have put more value on their wickets.
“I feel for Matt Page. He’s endeavoured to do the right thing for a lengthy game,” McGain said on SEN Breakfast.
“It was a perfect wicket last year when it went down to the last session on Day 5. Absolutely superb, great game of cricket.
“The elephant in the room is the batting. Yes, the pitch was lively and seaming, but can you survive and try to grind it out a bit longer?
“I reckon the batters can hold a lot of responsibility for a Test that went in two days.”
McGain acknowledges the pitch was doing a bit, but he did feel that some of the dismissals came down to batting errors and not necessarily movement off the surface.
“I think it’s about how the batters have contributed to it,” he added.
“Look back in isolation at the dismissals and you’d just be scratching your head going ‘what are they doing?’.
“Some of the most reckless stuff. Even Ben Stokes at the end when they needed 10 runs to win, he tried to flay that ball over cover and nicks it.
“I think it’s a combination of a tricky wicket (and poor batting), and the solution they’ve gone for has not helped.
“On this occasion, England came out on top. In Perth, Australia came out on top.”
Page admitted he was in "shock" at seeing 20 wickets fall on Day 1 when explaining how he and his team prepared the pitch for Melbourne.
