Australia coach McDonald backs under-fire MCG curator

MELBOURNE: Australia coach Andrew McDonald came to the defence of the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s under-fire curator Monday and warned against authorities meddling in pitch preparation.

Curator Matt Page and his team have been in the firing line after leaving 10 millimetres of grass on the wicket for the fourth Ashes Test against England.

It provided the seamers with movement and bounce, making batting treacherous, with England winning by four wickets inside two days.

The carnage left Cricket Australia facing Aus$10 million (US$6.7 million) in revenue shortfall, with tickets for day three, four and five needing to be refunded.

McDonald said Page had done an “outstanding” job over the years and the batsmen should also shoulder some of the blame for not scoring enough runs.

“The perspective that I always use is we have bad Test matches as well – this Test we weren’t at our best and sometimes these things can happen.

“We support him in what he’s done and are really proud of the evolution of the MCG.

“He’s found a nice balance for a long period of time.”

International Cricket Council referee Jeff Crowe is yet to deliver his assessment of the pitch, which if handed an “unsatisfactory” rating would see the venue slapped with a demerit point.

Cricket Australia are set to undertake their own end-of-season review of the management of Test wickets.

Chief executive Todd Greenberg has suggested a more interventionist approach might be needed, with shorter Tests “bad for business”.

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But McDonald said he was not in favour of any interference, with curators in Australia traditionally independent when preparing pitches, both from captains and Cricket Australia.

“I don’t want to get to a situation … where we are asking for specific surfaces and tailor-made,” McDonald said.

“I don’t think Australia will ever go there, and I don’t think they’ve ever been there, to my knowledge.”