ICC rates Melbourne pitch as ‘poor’

The International Cricket Council (ICC) rated on Tuesday the Melbourne Test pitch 'poor', following last week´s drawn clash between hosts Australia and England.

The track drew criticism from both competing teams, after Australia scored 327 and 263-4 declared in their two innings, while England scored 491 in their only innings.

"The bounce of the MCG pitch was medium, but slow in pace and got slower as the match progressed," match referee Ranjan Madugalle said in his report to the ICC, reflecting the concerns of the match officials over the performance of the pitch.

"The nature of the pitch did not change over the five days and there was no natural deterioration. As such, the pitch did not allow an even contest between the bat and the ball as it neither favoured the batsmen too much nor it gave the bowlers sufficient opportunity to take wickets."

Cricket Australia has two weeks to respond to the report, the sport´s governing body said in a statement.