Former Australia captain Greg Chappell tore strips off the batters in both sides for their lack of application in the two-day MCG Test farce.
England ended their 18-match winless streak in Australia when they beat the home side by four wickets in the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.
But all the talk in the aftermath has been about the seaming wicket, with curator Matt Page apologising for getting the preparations wrong and the pitch was deemed “unsatisfactory” by the ICC.
It was the first time the same series has had multiple two-day Tests in 129 years after the Perth series opener was also over before day three.
In his Sydney Morning Herald column, Chappell said the batters had to take their fair share of the blame for the fact that 36 wickets fell in just six sessions.
“The pitch, prepared by the diligent Matt Page, was perhaps a day shy of ideal, its early moisture and grass yielding unpredictable bounce and seam.
“Batters from both sides crumpled like autumn leaves in a gale.
“What shocked me most was not the conditions themselves, for cricket has always been a game at the mercy of the elements.
“No, it was the batters’ reactions: gestures of disbelief, muttered oaths, wry smiles as they trudged off, as if they alone had been cursed by a rogue delivery in the sport’s long history.
“They behaved like novices encountering adversity for the first time, oblivious to the blood, sweat, and sheer willpower that have sustained Test cricket through far worse trials.”
Greg Chappell was one of Australia’s finest batters. (Photo by Matt King – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images)
Chappell said the modern players needed to study the history of the game to realise that challenging wickets have been part and parcel of Test cricket since day one.
“These are not the first players to confront challenging conditions, and they will not be the last.
“Yet, in their petulance, they betray a profound ignorance of the game’s storied past. Test cricket is not a fleeting entertainment; it is a legacy built brick by brick over nearly a century and a half.
“To disregard that history is to disrespect the format itself, and in doing so, they imperil its future.”
Chappell said blaming the curators was an easy way out for the players.
“Two Tests in the series have failed to reach day three, not due to superior skill but a glaring absence of desire. Batters slashed wildly, abandoning technique for bravado, as if ‘playing their natural game’ excused capitulation.
“They let down predecessors who bled for this rivalry; they shortchanged fans who braved the holiday heat; they betrayed their own generation by forsaking cricket’s core tenets – playing each ball on merit, scrapping for every run, enduring bruises for the greater good.
“I cannot believe any player left the field thinking they had given their all.
“They hurled Page under the bus, blaming the pitch rather than their own frailties. Few put their body on the line, gesturing, laughing and cursing as they departed as if the surface was unplayable. Appalling.”
Usman Khawaja walks off after he is caught behind. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
His advice was blunt – stop whingeing and start practising traditional defensive techniques more.
“This is Test cricket, not a casual net. Get over yourselves and honour the format that has elevated you. Fight for your comrades, your colours. Absorb blows to extend the contest, ensuring spectators witness the drama they crave.
“Professionalism demands more than pocketing fees; it requires homework on history, resilience in adversity, selflessness over ego. The attitude of “this is how I play” – swinging freely amid chaos – mocks the pioneers who forged this path.
“Without their fortitude, modern cricketers would lack the platform to represent their countries in the noblest format.”
Australia captain Steve Smith said the pitch had too much grass on it while England counterpart Ben Stokes said a two-day result in a test match was “not ideal.”
“Being brutally honest, that’s not really what you want,” Stokes said. “Boxing Day Test match, you don’t want a game finishing in less than two days.”
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said “short Tests are bad for business,” and said CA would consider a closer role in pitch preparation in the future.
“Historically we have taken a hands-off approach in all of our wicket preparation and allowed the staff and the conditions and those characteristics to be presented,” Greenberg told SEN Radio. ”But it’s hard not to get more involved when you see the impact on the sport, particularly commercially.”
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