Venues / Ed Hawkins / 21 November 2010 /

Arguably the most "australian" ground when it comes to atmosphere and famous for the Boxing Day Tests but conditions at the MCG are sometimes very un-Australian indeed.

Melbourne

Boxing Day at the 'G' is the epitome of Australian culture: beer, sun and bashing the Poms at cricket. But it hasn't always been that way.

In 1982 and 1986, England won there and on the latter occasion they regained the urn under Mike Gatting's stewardship. They were also triumphant in 1998 and the MCG is England's most successful Australia ground in the last 30 years.

The possible reason is Melbourne's micro climate. It can often be very un-Australian. Rain and overcast conditions can aid the swing bowlers. On Christmas Day four years ago, on the eve of the fourth Test, it snowed.

The ground

A bit of a curate's egg this one. Australians are in awe of the place but for those wanting a little more charm from their cricket venues, the MCG is a bit of a carbuncle.

There is no doubt it is impressive in its size - the capacity is an incredible 97,000 - but it is a shame that what is essentially a large concrete bowl, similar to the Gabba, could not retain some of its heritage, like the charming old pavilion.

The wicket

The surface is renowned for producing a fair battle between bat and ball. The first-innings average in the last 10 Tests is 360 and not one of those matches ended in a draw. That is some prospect if the sides remain level going into the fourth Test.
There is not even a hint in which way the Test could swing in terms of recent toss bias. It is 50-50 over the last 10. Talking of swing, does it favour the pacemen or spinners?
Sorry, no great angle there, either. Last year, when Australia beat up Pakistan, Mohammad Aamir and Nathan Hauritz both claimed five wicket hauls.

In the one Sheffield Shield match so far in the Australian domestic season, the trend for bend and turn continued. Tasmania beat Victoria by 23 runs with Xavier Doherty, the offspinner, and Luke Butterworth, a bit of a wobbler bowler, claiming five wickets.
Surely if the status quo remains then England have an excellent chance of continuing their impressive record at the venue?

Last meeting

A famous one this. The Ashes were effectively over but there was still plenty of hype surrounding the game because Shane Warne, Victoria's favourite son, was on the brink of notching his 700th Test wicket.

Andrew Strauss was the great man's victim, being hopelessly bamboozled to send the home crowd into raptures. England disintegrated from then on. Warne claimed a five-for as the tourists were dismissed for 159, Strauss top scoring with 50.

England were still in the game, though having reduced Australia to 84-5. But centurions Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds took it away from them. Warne picked up two more in the third innings as Australia wrapped a crushing innings and 99-run win.

Highest total 604 Australia v England 1937
Highest 4th innings chase 332-7 England v Australia 1928
Most runs 2,106 R Ponting
Most wickets 82 D Lillee
Most runs last five years 557 M Hayden
Most wickets last five years 15 B Lee
Australian batting averages at ground
Katich 39.6
Watson 213
Ponting 62.4
Clarke 50
Hussey 31.6
North 8
Haddin 19.6

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: