'In India, Everyone Says Ball Shouldn't Be...': Ex-England Cricketer Calls Out Double Standards After MCG Mayhem

'In India, Everyone Says Ball Shouldn't Be...': Ex-England Cricketer Calls Out Double Standards After MCG Mayhem 36 wickets fell well inside two days of play during the 4th Test between Australia and England sparking concerns over the quality of pitch. England may have pulled one back in the ongoing five-match Test series in Australia, but the limelight has been stolen by the pitch which produced a record-breaking contest that ended well inside two days. 36 wickets fell in nearly six sessions of play as no batter managed to breach the 50-run mark - the first time it has happened in a Test in Australia. The captains of the two teams - Steve Smith and Ben Stokes - have been critical, even though the former has been a little diplomatic in his assessment. England won the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by four wickets to end Australia’s hopes of a series whitewash. Recommended Stories However, Stokes, despite his team ending England’s winless streak of 18 Tests on Australian soil, didn’t mince words when asked to give his verdict on the pitch. He was brutal and declared his feedback to the referee about the pitch “won’t be the best". He also claimed that if such a pitch was produced elsewhere in the world, it would unleash “hell". The groundsman left 10mm grass on the pitch which resulted in the ball seaming way too much, making life impossible for the batters. While Stokes may have refrained from naming a place, former England spinner Monty Panesar was more forthcoming. He said there’s plenty of chatter when the ball starts turning from day one in India. “When in India, we can see wickets falling, let’s say, 15-16 wickets in a day. Everyone says, ‘Oh! The ball shouldn’t be turning on day one’. Then why is the ball seaming so much? And this is not great for Ashes cricket. If Test cricket is to survive, Ashes cricket needs to last at least four to five days. And if you’re going to have, like, a two-day Test match, it’s like, the Perth Test match and the Brisbane Test match, in record, are the two top games where we lost 18-19 wickets, where the Australian comes in the top five," Panesar told Hindustan Times . This is the second Test match of the ongoing Ashes series to have not lasted even two days when Australia secured an eight-wicket win in Perth. Panesar says such contests will harm the Ashes brand. “What I’m trying to say is, if cricket is to survive, then you shouldn’t have two-day Test matches. This is not good for the Ashes brand, nor is it good for Test cricket. And then the other argument is, well, if the ball turns on the first day, and I’m from a spinner’s point of view, then please don’t complain the ball’s turning too much, because today, it’s seaming way too much," he said. Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on...

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