Australia v India 2nd Test: MCG curator Matthew Page confident of producing Boxing Day belter

Back-to-back Tests? No problem, says MCG curator Matthew Page, who is confident of not only producing a Boxing Day belter but a New Year’s spectacular if required.

For the first time in 293 days, the MCG will host a cricket match on Boxing Day.

The MCG is preparing five drop-in pitches in the middle of the famous ground as speculation mounts that Sydney’s New Year’s Test match is on the move to Melbourne.

Victorians will click through the MCG turnstiles for the first time in 293 days on Saturday and head curator Matthew Page’s focus hasn’t shifted from producing a Boxing Day belter.

But the centre square is full of fresh decks and would be ready to host back-to-back Test matches if required.

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For the first time in 293 days, the MCG will host a cricket match on Boxing Day.

That could see a maximum of 300,000 people safely watch Test cricket in what would be a summer boom for sport-starved Melbourne.

Capacity is capped at 30,000 per day, however ticket sales for the Boxing Day Test have started slowly.

A few hundred extra tickets for day one were released late on Wednesday and were likely to be snapped up quickly, ensuring a Boxing Day sell-out.

But thousands of tickets remain up for grabs for day two onwards.

“There are still plenty of tickets available,” Cricket Australia’s fan engagement boss Anthony Everard said.

“We want as many fans as possible to come to the ‘G for the first major event in Victoria since more than 85,000 filled the G for the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup.”

MCG head curator Matthew Page is confident of unveiling a Boxing Day belter.

“The MCC, Cricket Australia and the Victorian Government have worked closely to implement measures to protect the wellbeing of those attending.”

The MCG pitch came under fire for Boxing Day bores in 2017-18 which were played on lifeless, dull decks.

But last year’s pitch received full marks from the ICC after Page’s Sheffield Shield experiment deliver a lively pitch.

“It’s been a different build up to the Test match – but that’s 2020,” Page said.

“We’ve been vocal about our aim for the MCG pitches to have something in them for both bat and ball.

“We’re on a journey to ensure consistency in our pitches and have been concentrating on pace, bounce and lateral movement.

The last time the MCG hosted a cricket match something special happened.

“Those characteristics were seen in last year’s Test pitch, where we were awarded the ICC’s highest rating.

“That was a great vote of confidence.

“Our focus is on the Boxing Day Test and producing a great pitch for that.

“We have five drop-in pitches in the centre of the MCG and we’re preparing those as we would regardless, including a focus on the BBL matches we’re hosting in January.”

It was back on March 8 when women’s captain Meg Lanning lifted the T20 World Cup as Katy Perry rocked a packed MCG.

That seems a lifetime ago and the MCG has gathered dust ever since, only used to host nine ghost AFL games played in front of no spectators.