The Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground isn’t just a cricket match. It’s a social gathering, a coming together of peoples, a spectacle that is often the best way to bring the curtain down on a year of compelling action. It generates a buzz and an enthusiasm akin to a home side contesting the final of a global tournament; the energy is constant and infectious, the air crackling with electricity and bonhomie, all with no little help from Bacchus.

It’s a stop on the cricket calendar eagerly awaited for reasons beyond cricket, though the sport is invariably the driving force. And yet, here we are, on the scheduled day three of five, engaged in post mortems and critiques, wondering how such a fiercely anticipated showpiece devolved into a damp squib.

Upwards of 90,000 people crammed the marquee stadium, affectionately called the ‘G’, on each of the two days that witnessed play. The action was frenetic, furious, maybe even fascinating. Test cricket, particularly, is meant to be an equal contest between bat and ball, with the odds slightly tilted in favour of the latter. The MCG provided anything but that as the fourth Ashes Test got over before you could say Steve Smith and Ben Stokes in the same breath.

Vocal critics

Smith and Stokes have been among the vocal critics of a grass-laden knoll that made batting impossibly hazardous. One cursory look at curator Matt Page’s creation was enough for both captains to jettison any distant thoughts of fielding a specialist spinner. Both sides went seam heavy, hoping to rely on part-time spinners if the need arose. That need, as we all know now, hardly did.

In all, the Boxing Day showdown lasted 852 deliveries. That’s 142 overs, condensed into two days of fast-forward frenzy, culminating in a nervy four-wicket win for the visiting side. You’d think that the captain of a team that had won a Test down under after 5,468 days would be delighted at the outcome. But Stokes, the maverick with the heart of a warrior, minced no words as he slammed the playing surface, unequivocally laying into the green carpet.

“Being brutally honest, that’s not really what you want. Boxing Day Test match. You don’t want a game finishing in less than two days. Not ideal,” Stokes thundered, before adding, “I’m pretty sure if that was somewhere else in the world, there’d be hell on. Not the best thing for games that should be played over five days.”

At the press conference where he made these comments, the all-rounder was asked if ‘somewhere else in the world’ was directed at spin-friendly pitches in the subcontinent. “Your words, not mine,” was the riposte.

Much-needed victory

For England, this victory was much needed after the flak they have received over their preparations coming into the Ashes, their insipid performances in the first three matches, and an alleged drinking binge when on vacation in the long gap between the third and the fourth Tests. It has reignited, if only just, their World Test Championship prospects; on the other hand, Australia have surrendered their hitherto all-win record, undone by the 11 millimetres of grass that Page, in his infinite wisdom, laid out for pacers from both sides to feast on.

Even in isolation, a 142-over Test that saw 36 wickets crumble inside two days for just 572 runs scored is an alarming development. Combine it with what happened at the Optus Stadium in Perth five weeks previously, and it is clear that Cricket Australia (CA) must start to ask its member units how things have been allowed to come to such a pass. In the first Test that usually sets the tone for the rest of the series, Australia raced to an eight-wicket victory on the back of an outrageously freakish century by Travis Head. The irrepressible left-hander took his chances on being promoted as an opener in Usman Khawaja’s unavailability, though 123 off 83 deliveries can hardly be dismissed as chancy.

Until the Head carnage that decisively settled the contest, the ball had once again been the dominant entity. The first three innings of the Test yielded a frugal 468 runs in 112.5 overs. The hectic rate of scoring — England went at 5.23 and 4.73 an over in piecing together 172 and 164 respectively — was due to the fact that no batter felt he could trust the pitch, that he had to lash out before the ball with his name on it arrived at some stage. Harry Brook’s 52 in the England first innings was the only knock of any substance, until Head tore prediction sheets to shreds by making a fourth-innings target of 205 appear tiny and grossly inadequate.

Falling like ninepins

As many as 19 wickets fell on day one at the Optus; the MCG topped that with 20, both first innings ending before stumps and the hosts even getting to bat for one over in the second innings. Even accounting for the fact that batting standards have dipped somewhat in recent years, these are unacceptable numbers. How can such diabolical statistics not attract sanction and censure and penalties to go with the ridicule that is already ruling the social media waves?

CA chief Todd Greenberg didn’t hold back as he reflected on the second two-day finish in four games. “A simple phrase I’d use is short Tests are bad for business,” he remarked. “I can’t be much more blunt than that.” Greenberg donned his financial rather than cricketing hat, perhaps dismayed by the potential $6.7 million loss that didn’t allow him to ‘sleep well’ after the first day of the MCG fiasco. But he did strike the right note. Hopefully, he will now put the (much reduced) money where his mouth is and embark on course correction, sooner rather than later.

Australia once was the perfect place to play cricket in simply because of the vast differences in the nature of the playing surfaces across the huge country. The hallowed WACA ground in Perth — replaced by the Optus in December 2018 — and the Gabba in Brisbane tested technique and mettle, courtesy pace and bounce. The Adelaide Oval was largely a very good batting surface before starting to help the spinners as the game went on, the Sydney Cricket Ground was the most spin-friendly of the lot and the MCG was a combination of The Oval and the SCG.

Consequently, in a long series, or even in a three-match showdown, cricketers of every ilk had the opportunity to showcase their wares. They could rely on their skills to make an impact instead of riding their luck and hoping for the best, like has been the case in the last few years. The MCG and the SCG have totally changed in character, and there is a similarity to the tracks, most of them drop-in, that have dulled some of the charm of Test cricket in Australia.

The convenient and lazy reasoning for this development will be the quest for the World Test Championship (WTC) points, but Australia have been picking up points in most venues. If they missed out on qualifying for the inaugural final in 2021, it was less because of cricketing inadequacies and more due to their tardy over-rates. The docked points for slow over-rates allowed New Zealand to sneak ahead of them and into the final, where the Kiwis schooled India in Southampton. Australia have contested each of the next two finals, winning against India in 2023 and going down to Temba Bavuma-inspired South Africa at Lord’s this summer.

Do they need external help to bolster their chances? Sure, every team will welcome the opportunity to make the most of home advantage. But by producing decks with 11mm grass, aren’t they selling themselves short, much like India have been doing by rolling out turners of dubious bounce at home that their batters aren’t equipped to flourish on and which have brought opposition spinners of modest skills into the equation more and more?

Greg Chappell, the wonderfully articulate former India coach, once told this writer that if the stakeholders themselves are disrespectful of the game, it is impossible to expect the fans to be energised by Test cricket. “When the game itself denigrates the longest form of the game, it is understandable that the public might not be as stimulated by it, which is a great shame because I still think the greatest form of the game is the long form,” he said. “We’ve allowed the game to be showcased poorly, and it is no surprise to me that we have probably got a generation of people that never really understood what the attraction of Test cricket is.”

Chappell was referring more to ‘your 550 plays my 600’, which used to be the case in the subcontinent for long when winning wasn’t as important as not losing. That was in the pre-WTC era; now the onus is on results and therefore ‘doctored’ pitches designed to maximise the benefit of playing in one’s backyard, though we have seen, especially in India in the last 14 months, how spectacularly the best-laid plans can unravel.

Stokes has stoked the fire by talking about ‘somewhere else in the world’ during his takedown of the MCG surface. In a way, he was echoing Rohit Sharma’s thoughts of January 2024, when the then Indian Test captain lambasted the Newlands track in Cape Town after it was the scene of another two-day game. Interestingly, like Stokes, Rohit too was on the winning side on an abomination of a surface where the chances of succeeding with the bat were less than those of winning a lottery. After Mohammed Siraj helped bowl South Africa out for 55 on the first morning and India completed a seven-wicket on the second afternoon, Rohit let loose: “We saw what happened in this match, how the pitch played. I honestly don’t mind playing on pitches like this. As long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and don’t talk too much about Indian pitches.”

Point taken, Rohit, though at the end of the day, it must not be about where the pitches are below-par, or which aspects of the sport are taken out of the equation. Test cricket owes its most passionate stakeholders, the uncelebrated fans, respect and gratitude. Two-day games are hardly the way to showcase that.

Player of the Match Pat Cummins of Australia poses with the Mullagh Medal during day five of the fourth Test in the series between Australia and India at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 30, 2024
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Bagging crucial wickets and delivering critical runs, Pat Cummins has been in the thick of things. After winning the fourth Test against India, the Australian captain was all smiles during a chat with the media at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here on Monday (December 30, 2024) evening.

“I reckon this (victory) is right at the top. Yeah, Edgbaston (2023) was pretty special and I reckon this is pretty much on par,” Cummins said while reflecting on the latest triumph.

Asked about how he manages to contribute both as a batter and bowler, Cummins quickly deflected the attention: “One of the things I love about our group is that there are so many people who want to be the match winner. Today (Mitchell) Starkey, (Nathan) Lyon, (Scott) Boland and myself, were pumped for the day. Same with the batting group. We love playing at home, we love Tests and this was one of the bigger ones.”

Talking about the strategy for the final day, the host skipper explained: “Felt we needed atleast 300. We got 90 odd overs, and that gave us 12 overs potentially with the second new ball. We had a good first session and it kind of took the win out of the equation for them. We could really go in for the attack.”

Asked about Jasprit Bumrah, Cummins said: “He has been their most influential player. I thought all their bowlers bowled really well yesterday (Sunday). He in particular poses the biggest threat.”

The speedster also praised debutant Sam Konstas: “As a nineteen-year-old, the bravery he showed on the opening day, I felt it was unreal. He has that no-fear mindset, revs up the crowd and doesn’t shy away from any contest.” And as for plans for the next few days? “A mix of happiness and rest,” Cummins quipped.

Fans watch on during day five of the Men’s fourth Test in the series between Australia and India at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 30, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Over the last five days, all roads led to the G, as the Melbourne Cricket Ground is fondly referred to. And it was no surprise that audience-records were shattered along the way.

A total attendance of 3,73,691 was recorded during the fourth Test involving Australia and India. It is the highest ever for a Test in Australia and according to a Cricket Australia press-release, the latest numbers ‘surpassed the previous mark of 3,50,534 from 1937, where fans saw Don Bradman’s Australia defeat England in a six-day Test.’

The note also mentioned that the 74,362 turnout on Monday, was the highest final day attendance ever in Australia.

“Thank you, Melbourne. An Australian cricketing record, an MCG record and history made,” Cricket Australia tweeted.

In terms of Boxing Day Tests, the previous record was 271,865 during the 2013-14 Ashes, according to AFP.

Rahul has been the pick of the Indian batters.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Over a month in Australia, India has seen it all. The high at Perth, the low at Adelaide and the stalemate at Brisbane, with the weather lending a generous hand in the last fixture. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is level at 1-1 and with two Tests remaining, Rohit Sharma’s men will get extra opportunities to revive their campaign.

R. Ashwin’s sudden retirement has added another layer and it is never easy to move on when a champion departs. In a sense, without meaning it that way, he has revived the transition process, a movement which saw Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane lose their Test spots.

From the original core-group, Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are still part of the mix. But time and tide wait for none and in the coming months and years, more storied careers will hit the full-stop button. In this series, Kohli found his voice at Perth before the old vulnerability around off-stump cropped up again. Rohit, meanwhile, has strived but either succumbed to tough deliveries or erred in his judgement.

Jadeja, finally getting an opportunity at the Gabba, was rusty as a bowler and doughty as a batter. With Ashwin’s exit, he becomes the number one spinner in terms of legacy within the squad, even if that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a spot in the playing eleven while competing overseas.

K.L. Rahul’s consistency (235 runs averaging 47) and the lower-order’s pluck, has bailed out India. But the other batters have to rally around, be it veterans like Kohli and Rohit, or youngsters like Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. To expect Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep to bowl incisively and also bat with gumption, all the time, is too lopsided a hope.

The duo, in a sense, saved the third Test by helping India avoid the follow-on. The constant rains through the Test meant that it became a rare contest which lasted five days. It scuppered the host’s plans to maximise the value of a first innings score of 445. However, India would be glad to have staged the great escape.

With the fourth Test commencing here from December 26, Rohit’s men get some time to unwind, train well and also firm up their strategies. The failure of the established batters, Rahul being an exception, has meant that Rishabh Pant, stepping in at five, is burdened with the task of rebuilding. He and Nitish Kumar Reddy, offer some insurance, but being constantly saddled with a salvage-operation can be a draining experience.

The coaching staff led by Gautam Gambhir have to find a way to choke Travis Head. The southpaw has papered the cracks and launched counter-attacks. Australia will miss the services of an injured Josh Hazlewood but Scott Boland is a strong replacement.

On Thursday, Brisbane stirred awake to a sunny morning and Melbourne had clear skies and a summer vibe marinated with the Christmas spirit. Hopefully, in the coming days, India will gain a sunny perspective.

Australian captain Steve Smith (right) and Indian batter Virat Kohli. File photo.
| Photo Credit: V.V. Krishnan

As the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India draws close, Australian batter Steve Smith opened up on his bond with star India batter Virat Kohli, revealing that they often exchange text messages and pointed out the reason why his Indian counterpart is an “Australian.”

The Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia will begin on November 22, with the first Test at Perth.

Speaking about Virat, Smith said on Star Sports, “We get on quite well, and share messages now and again. Look, he is a great guy and a wonderful player. So, it will be nice to come up against him again this summer.”

Smith remarked that Virat is an Australian “in thoughts and action”.

“The way he gets into it all the way, and gets into the challenge and tries to get on top of the opposition. He is probably the most Australian of the Indian players, I would say,” he added.

On competing with Virat as a batter, Smith said that he does not think like that, rather, Australia’s success is paramount.

“There is no real, I need to beat him or anything like that. It is just about going out and playing and trying to score as many runs as I can and helping Australia have success. That is what it’s all about,” he added.

Smith and Virat are among the ‘Fab Four’ batters of the modern era, alongside England’s Joe Root and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.

In 109 Tests, Smith has scored 9,685 runs at an average of 56.97, with 32 centuries and 41 fifties in 195 innings. His best score is 239. On the other hand, Virat has scored 8,848 runs in 113 Tests and 191 innings at an average of 49.15, with 29 centuries and 30 fifties. His best score is 254.

A heartfelt moment between the two tough rivals came during the 2019 World Cup, when Virat stopped the crowd from booing at Smith over the ‘Sandpaper Gate’ saga. Smith later appreciated the gesture and thanked the former Indian skipper for the same.

Virat’s Test record in Australia is prolific, scoring 1,352 runs at an average of 54.08 in 13 Tests, with six centuries and four fifties in 25 innings. His best score is 169. Overall in 25 Tests against Australia, he has scored 2,042 runs at an average of 47.48, with eight centuries and five fifties in 44 innings.

On the other hand, Smith is the ninth-highest run-getter in the BGT history. In 18 matches and 35 innings, he has scored 1,887 runs at an average of 65.06, with eight centuries and five fifties. His best score is 192.

The second Test, scheduled for December 6 to 10 at Adelaide Oval, will feature the exciting day-night format under the stadium’s lights. After that, fans will turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test, which will be held from December 14 to 18.

The customary Boxing Day Test, set for December 26 to 30 at Melbourne’s storied Melbourne Cricket Ground, will bring the series to its penultimate stage.

The fifth and final Test, taking place at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, will serve as the series climax, promising a dramatic conclusion to an exciting contest.