The Indian team has complained about practice pitches prior to the start of the Boxing day Test match in Melbourne. The Dainik Jagaran report highlighted that pitches assigned for India’s practice sessions have low bounce and slower pace of the ball when compared to the conventional MCG wickets. These practice surfaces were meant for BBL players but the Indian team had to grapple with it.
The Indian team has to report about these situations because the Australian team has been provided with two neighboring pitches that are bouncy and quick like the real Test match atmosphere. These differences in practice facilities have led to some form of sectionalism in arriving at the specific practice arrangements.
Several important factors that make a cricket ground suitable for a practice might not be ideal for a final Test match. This means the Indian team could suffer from a suboptimal practice, which puts the Australian team at an unfair advantage. It is always a coveted Boxing Day Test and India will be keen to use every chance to outdo the Aussies in practice sessions.
MCG curator denies claims of Indian team receiving flat pitches with limited bounce
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Matt Page, curator at MCG, responded to the problem by stating that it is customary for Australian curators to only supply new practice pitches three days before a Test match begins.
“For us, three days out, we prepare Test match pitches for here. If teams come and train before that, they get what pitches we have had. Today, we are on fresh pitches. If India had trained this morning, they would have been on those fresh pitches. It’s stock standard procedure for us, three days out,” Matt Page said (via local newspaper WAtoday).
