The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process has rated the pitch used for the fourth Ashes Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as ‘poor’.
Australia scored 327 and 263-4 declared during the drawn Test, while England totalled 491 in their only innings, which prompted match referee Ranjan Madugalle to reveal the concerns of the match officials.
A significant change in this process is to award demerit points for venues whose conditions for international matches are below the expected requirement. These points will accumulate over five years, with one point awarded for a below average pitch, three points for a poor pitch and five for an unfit pitch.
If a ground is given five demerit points, it will receive a 12-month suspension from hosting international cricket, while 10 demerit points will result in a 24-month suspension. The revised process will be implemented in time for the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney, which begins on Wednesday at 23.30 GMT.
