The MCG’s seam-friendly Boxing Day Test pitch has been assessed as “unsatisfactory” by the International Cricket Council, breaking the venue’s streak of top ratings. Read...

Few of the players involved in the Boxing Day Test put their body on the line, gesturing, laughing and cursing as they departed as if the surface was unplayable. It was appalling. Read...

Much as many would like to wall off this Test, it might not be possible. Besides, some five-day Tests of yore should have been euthanised before their time. Read...

Winning a lottery on a seaming MCG pitch can’t mask the failings of their Ashes venture in Australia. Read...

Figures suggest the surge in post-Christmas shoppers was the strongest in a decade. Read...

How can such a small thing matter so much in a game of cricket? Read...

Why is everyone so worked up about the length of the grass, how does it make life difficult for batters, and what does it mean for the famous Melbourne stadium? Read...

Melbourne Cricket Ground head curator Matthew Page says he was in a “state of shock” during England’s two-day defeat of Australia in the Boxing Day Test. Read...

The MCG’s embattled pitch curator says he was “very disappointed” as the test lasted just two days and left Cricket Australia with a significant financial shortfall. Read...

Another Ashes test to finish inside two days was played on a “furry, green” pitch that has left Cricket Australia with an estimated shortfall of more than $11m. Read...