India and Australia will be playing the fourth test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Melbourne starting 26 December but currently a controversy has erupted as it is being said that the Indian side has been provided with different practice conditions.
Matt Page, the pitch curator of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), has dismissed accusations of deliberately providing separate practice conditions for India and Australia ahead of the Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Matt Page clarified that India arrived earlier than expected, leaving fresh pitches unavailable for their practice sessions.
According to reports from Indian media in Australia, the Indian team led by captain Rohit Sharma had to practice on weathered tracks with inconsistent bounce. Meanwhile, Australia was reportedly provided with newer, more polished pitches for their preparations, starting on Sunday.
Matt Page stated in an interview, “For us, three days out, we prepare Test match pitches for here. If teams come and train before that, they get what pitches we have had. Today, we are on fresh pitches. If India had trained this morning, they would have been on those fresh pitches. It’s stock standard procedure for us, three days out.”
The differing conditions raised concerns and reportedly led to injury scares for the Indian players, including Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and pacer Akash Deep.
When Akash Deep was asked about the variance in bounce and blows, he said that such blows are pretty common in the game of cricket. He added that he feels this practice wicket must have been for white ball cricket because of which the ball was keeping low but there is nothing to worry.
Addressing the concerns, Page explained that fresh practice wickets were prepared only three days before the Test and emphasised that no deliberate bias was involved. Regarding the main pitch for the match, he said that it would offer pace and swing, aiming to excite fast bowlers. However, he noted that it might not be as quick as in previous Tests.
Matt Page stated, “I think all the quick bowlers get excited when they come here now. It gets through well for us. We are never going to be as quick as Perth or Brisbane, but over the last few years we have managed to get some pace into it, which has created that excitement. There is a bit of grass on it. If you are a fast bowler, and you look it at, yeah, you probably do get excited.”
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This development has added to the anticipation for the highly awaited Boxing Day Test, which promises a competitive clash between the two cricketing giants.
