The fourth Test of the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) ended in just two days, and it has left everyone talking for the wrong reasons.
Ben Stokes and Steve Smith admitted that this is not how a Test match, especially a Boxing Day Test, should end.
Ben Stokes, Steve Smith Blast ‘Terrible’ MCG Pitch After Two-Day Ashes Test
In a rare moment of agreement between Ashes rivals, England captain Ben Stokes and Australia’s stand-in skipper Steve Smith have delivered a scathing indictment of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) pitch after the fourth Ashes Test ended in just two days.
It was the shortest Ashes match in over 90 years, and “It’s not good enough,” Stokes said bluntly, with Smith adding the surface was “terrible” for Test cricket.
The pitch at the MCG surprised both teams. There was around 10 mm of grass on the surface, which made batting extremely difficult from the start. The ball moved sharply off the seam, and batters from both sides struggled to stay at the crease. In total, 36 wickets fell across just six sessions, and the highest score by any batter in the match was Travis Head’s 46.
The Boxing Day Test Disaster: 36 Wickets in Two Days
The numbers tell a shocking story:
– Day 1: 20 wickets fell as Australia made 152 and England collapsed to 110
– Day 2: 16 more wickets fell as England chased 175 on what players called “a minefield.”
– Highest score: Travis Head’s 46, as no batter reached a half-century
– Total overs: 142
– Duration: Less than 48 Hours
‘If This Was Elsewhere, There’d Be Hell’ – Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes didn’t mince words when assessing the MCG pitch that saw his England cricket team secure a dramatic four-wicket win, which was their first Ashes victory in Australia in 15 years.
Ben Stokes told Test Match Special: “Not the best. With 36 wickets in less than two days and no total over 200, I think you can read into that a lot. If that was another condition somewhere else and that happened, you probably would get a pasting.”
The England all-rounder Ben Stokes indirectly referenced the frequent criticism directed at turning pitches in Asia. He said, “I’m pretty sure if that was somewhere else in the world, there’d be hell on.”
Even at the post-match press conference, Stokes reiterated, “It’s not ideal, but when you go out there and you’re faced with those conditions, you’ve got to crack on and deal with it. But being brutally honest, that’s not really what you want. You know, Boxing Day Test match, you don’t want a game finishing in less than two days. It is not the best thing for games that should be played over five days, but we played a type of cricket that ended up getting the job done.”
Steve Smith Calls MCG Surface Too Bowler-Friendly
Steve Smith echoed the sentiment, saying the grass on the pitch helped bowlers too much and did not allow batters to settle at all. He openly said that the pitch was in favor of the bowlers a little bit too much and felt slightly less grass could have created a better balance.
Smith said at the post-match press conference, “It was tricky. No one could really get in. I think when you see 36 wickets across two days, that’s probably too much. It probably did a little bit more than they wanted it to. Maybe if we dropped it down to eight millimeters, it would be about right.”