The ridiculous fake news about the history of the MCG pitch - the G is the best ground for results

[Underarm]

Part of the issue with the current so-called 'drama' about the pitch that very few people bother to actually highlight is that the pitch used for the Shield game that was abandoned isn't the same one that will be used for the BD Test.

How anyone who follows cricket couldn't pick that up and realise that there's not likely to be a huge issue, is beyond me.

But I guess as others have mentioned earlier, it's easier to write clickbait sensationalist rubbish and hey, it got Perth some publicity (which they've gone and flunked by having an empty stadium over the weekend)

The MCG curators produced a pitch so bad it had to be called off. When you combine this with the 'poor' rating they received a couple of years ago and the general lack of an interesting match at the MCG in recent years it becomes a story.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

The MCG curators produced a pitch so bad it had to be called off. When you combine this with the 'poor' rating they received a couple of years ago and the general lack of an interesting match at the MCG in recent years it becomes a story.

Rather a dangerous pitch than a road though. A bowling test is better than a batting one

 

[Underarm]

Rather a dangerous pitch than a road though. A bowling test is better than a batting one

As a spectacle, sure. However a pitch deemed to dangerous to play on is far worse from a curators perspective than a lifeless pitch.

You can produce bowling tests without getting them close to 'dangerous territory though.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

As a spectacle, sure. However a pitch deemed to dangerous to play on is far worse from a curators perspective than a lifeless pitch.

You can produce bowling tests without getting them close to 'dangerous territory though.

Just produce the same pitch as in Perth it’s not rocket surgery.

 

[Pistol Night]

Just produce the same pitch as in Perth it’s not rocket surgery.

Or brain science. Drop in pitches are the issue. Put one on a truck from Perth!

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Or brain science. Drop in pitches are the issue. Put one on a truck from Perth!

I'm just happy the SCG and our members gave the drop ins a big middle finger to drop ins at the AGM.

 

[Pistol Night]

I'm just happy the SCG and our members gave the drop ins a big middle finger to drop ins at the AGM.

Yep, thats probably the last remaining deck with its original character

 

[TimothyJ23]

The MCG curators produced a pitch so bad it had to be called off. When you combine this with the 'poor' rating they received a couple of years ago and the general lack of an interesting match at the MCG in recent years it becomes a story.

I'm not denying it's newsworthy by any means - my beef is with the erroneous claims that the test should be moved and IMO, the underreporting from media to help more casual observers understand that the Shield pitch and the Test pitch are to different things.

My point being that the facts have been pushed back for the sensational angle.

 

[eddiesmith]

I'm just happy the SCG and our members gave the drop ins a big middle finger to drop ins at the AGM.

Yet the SCG is still flatter than the Hume

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Yet the SCG is still flatter than the Hume

Been a disappointing pitch the last two NEw Years tests. Shield pitch has been better this year though

 

[Gough]

Been a disappointing pitch the last two NEw Years tests. Shield pitch has been better this year though

Weather has been a problem too. One of the realities of climate change might be that New Year is no longer the ideal time for Sydney to host a Test.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Weather has been a problem too. One of the realities of climate change might be that New Year is no longer the ideal time for Sydney to host a Test.

Well maybe start it on the 2nd ideally but the reality is it works with school holidays has to be around that time

 

[iluvparis]

Well maybe start it on the 2nd ideally but the reality is it works with school holidays has to be around that time

Yes I'm sure that one extra day will make all the difference in terms of climate

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Yes I'm sure that one extra day will make all the difference in terms of climate

Would help with the crowds. It used to be a New Years test now it’s closer to the 4th or whatever.

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

"Fake news."

The two words shouted by idiots or morally bankrupt grubs who struggle with the truth.

 

[Linda Lovelace]

Forgot to bump this for those that would like to sample some crow.

Of course, the MCG wicket being good this time wouldn't mean sh*t if it was normally terrible. But it's not normally terrible - it's normally good. Many of you either convinced yourselves or were convinced by the media that instead the actual anomaly was the norm.

Don't get sucked into baseless hysteria next time. Look at some stats and realize that draws and sh*tty pitches happen in test cricket - just less often at the MCG than anywhere else in the country.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Forgot to bump this for those that would like to sample some crow.

Of course, the MCG wicket being good this time wouldn't mean sh*t if it was normally terrible. But it's not normally terrible - it's normally good. Many of you either convinced yourselves or were convinced by the media that instead the actual anomaly was the norm.

Don't get sucked into baseless hysteria next time. Look at some stats and realize that draws and sh*tty pitches happen in test cricket - just less often at the MCG than anywhere else in the country.

It took Melbourne sacking their useless curator to get it better

 

[Linda Lovelace]

It took Melbourne sacking their useless curator to get it better

It's the same curator who was in charge in 2017 and 2018. And those are the two years people whine about.

 

[Doss]

Maybe, just maybe, there’s a happy medium.

There were definitely hysterical and over the top reactions that made out Melbourne has had an issue forever and a day with the pitch, when the results do not back that up.

However, it was not hysteria to point out how bad the 2017 and 2018 pitches were. The 2017 surface was the biggest featherbed I can ever recall in Australia, and the 2018 one was only marginally better and I’d go as far as saying the only reason one produced a result was that India’s attack was much better than England’s and conversely, Australia’s batting line up in 2018, minus Smith and Warner, was ******* appalling.

The 2017 pitch was complete horseshit and the 2018 pitch very poor. Featherbeds aren’t good for anyone. That’s not hysteria.

Thankfully it was much better this year.

 

[Woody15]

It's the same curator who was in charge in 2017 and 2018. And those are the two years people whine about.

Are you saying those pitches were good? They were awful. Pretty simplistic to say they were OK because a result was produced.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Other states also hosted Shield games on or around Boxing Day. You're not special, Victoria.

This is true. My dad's birthday was Boxing Day and as a lad I recall him heading off to Adelaide Oval to have a few beers with his mates and watch a Sheffield Shield game, usually SA v Qld for memory.

 

[Linda Lovelace]

Are you saying those pitches were good? They were awful. Pretty simplistic to say they were OK because a result was produced.

Reading comprehension apparently not a strong suit around here. I was simply informing the confused gentleman that the pitch didn't improve because the curator was sacked. It was the same curator for this test and the two recent poor pitches.

 

[Woody15]

View attachment 799988

Reading comprehension apparently not a strong suit around here. I was simply informing the confused gentleman that the pitch didn't improve because the curator was sacked. It was the same curator for this test and the two recent poor pitches.

Yeh I wasnt referring to the curator discussion. Your posts in this thread basically indicate that because a result occurred that the pitch must be ok which is rubbish and that people 'whine about 2017 and 2018' and rightfully so - thats what I was referring to. Perhaps take your own advice.

Players, officials and a large number of commentators have all said the pitch has been ordinary for sometime - regardless of results.

 

[Linda Lovelace]

Maybe, just maybe, there’s a happy medium.

There were definitely hysterical and over the top reactions that made out Melbourne has had an issue forever and a day with the pitch, when the results do not back that up.

However, it was not hysteria to point out how bad the 2017 and 2018 pitches were. The 2017 surface was the biggest featherbed I can ever recall in Australia, and the 2018 one was only marginally better and I’d go as far as saying the only reason one produced a result was that India’s attack was much better than England’s and conversely, Australia’s batting line up in 2018, minus Smith and Warner, was ******* appalling.

The 2017 pitch was complete horseshit and the 2018 pitch very poor. Featherbeds aren’t good for anyone. That’s not hysteria.

Thankfully it was much better this year.

Nobody ever claimed they were good pitches. The hysteria came from taking the anomalous poor pitches in 2017-18 (and there was secondary hysteria over 2018 which still produced a result) and pretending it was the norm.

Notice I made this thread well before the test. I had history and data on my side - odds were that the pitch would be fine and it turned out it was. Hence people needed to calm down ahead of time, like I said.

 

[Freo Big Fella]

Finally produced a track that wasn't dog s**t - congratulations to Cricket Victoria. Interesting to note Lyon mentioning it's the best Melbourne wicket in nine years that he's played there. What an endorsement!

Good on Cricket Australia for flying in Burdett at the last minute to fix CV's ongoing incompetence.

Expect we'll see a return to the mean (Boxing Day being the least interesting contest of the summer) if they're not kept under close supervision.