Former cricketers from both Australia and England slammed the Melbourne track used for the Boxing Day Test after 20 wickets fell on the first day. This was the first time in approximately 74 years that 20 scalps fell on the opening day of a Test match in Australia. The day proved to be nothing short of a nightmare for the batters as both the sides saw their first innings conclude on the first day itself.
After England bowled out Australia for 152 runs, the hosts replied with a superb bowling performance and bundled out the opposition for just 110 runs. Despite posting a low total, the Baggy Greens managed to take a decent 42-run lead heading into their second innings. While England's Josh Tongue racked up a fifer, Australia's Michael Neser and Scott Boland picked up four and three wickets respectively as no batter from both sides managed to score a half-century.
Broad and Katich's remarks
Former England pacer Stuart Broad expressed concerns with the Melbourne pitch and remarked that there is too much movement on the pitch, which is something that the bowlers do not need. Ex-Australia all-rounder Simon Katich agreed with Broad's criticism and said that so many wickets shouldn't have fallen on the first day itself.
“This pitch is doing everything. There is a ball coming with your name on it. The pitch is doing too much if I am brutally honest. Test match bowlers do not need this amount of movement to look threatening," Broad said as quoted by SEN Cricket.
“Yes, there is a little bit of juice in the wicket with 10mm of grass, but there should not be 14 wickets gone already. It is as if the covering of grass spooks them (England)," Katich said.
Lee and Vaughan express criticism on the pitch
Legendary Australia pacer Brett Lee was also critical of the pitch and said that it was "a bit too sporty" for the batters.
“Well, I use the word sporty, and I’ve often said, look it’s a batsman’s game, we’re here to see batsmen score runs, but I think it is a bit too sporty in my opinion," Lee was quoted as saying by FOX Cricket.
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Finally, former England captain Michael Vaughan remarked that the track has done too much and further highlighted how difficult it was for the batters to play on the bowler-friendly surface.
“This pitch today has done too much. This pitch has zipped quickly, and it has not been easy at all," Vaugahn commented on FOX Cricket.