Australia v New Zealand Boxing Day Test: Heat wave won’t affect MCG pitch

A Melbourne heatwave has thrown a spanner into Matt Page’s preparations for Boxing Day but the MCG curator has promised the most scrutinised pitch of the summer will be ready to go.

A Melbourne heatwave won’t affect the Boxing Day deck. Picture: AAP/Sean Garnsworthy

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Two days of temperatures around 40C won’t impact MCG curator Matt Page’s preparations for the most scrutinised pitch of the summer which will feature more grass than normal on Boxing Day.

The Test strip was under covers on Wednesday as the mercury reached 39C with another scorcher of 41C forecast for Friday.

But the gap between the heatwave and the first day of the second Test next Wednesday, with cooler weather forecast for this weekend, has Page confident he’ll deliver the pitch he is aiming for.

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A Melbourne heatwave won’t affect the Boxing Day deck. Picture: AAP/Sean Garnsworthy

Page, who helped build the strip at the new Perth Stadium — which Australian coach Justin Langer said was “brilliant” for last week’s first Test against New Zealand — was headhunted to help bring the MCG square to life.

The curator conceded he pushed too hard for the last Sheffield Shield game at the ground, which was abandoned.

But Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said the feedback he’s received was that the work done by Page had turned the MCG strip in to a “proper turf wicket” again.

“The condition of pitches at the MCG has been on a significant increase over the last period of time since Matt and the team took the concrete base out from underneath the pitches and replaced it with sand,” Roberts said.

MCG curator Matt Page. Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty

“The feedback from the curators is that it feels different to roll, the feedback from the players is that it feels different and even sounds different to play on.

“It sounds like a proper turf wicket now, rather than something that’s more like a concrete deck, so we’re really optimistic about Boxing Day.

“The preparation of that specific pitch started around last weekend, and we can expect more grass on that wicket than we’ve seen over the last couple of Boxing Day Tests.”

New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult only saw the pitch under covers during the Black Caps first training session on Sunday and wasn’t sure what to expect on Boxing Day.

“We’ve only experienced what was in the news a few days ago with that game getting called off. It’s a hard one to know what to expect,” Boult said.

“The nets seem pretty solid, so if that’s any indication it looks like we could be in for more work.”

Originally published as Australia v New Zealand Boxing Day Test: Heat wave won’t affect MCG pitch