MCG boss' thinly-veiled swipe over 'treacherous' WA pitch

Melbourne Cricket Club boss Stuart Fox has taken aim at the conditions in the recent Perth Test, claiming the pitch was below standard compared to what will be on offer at the MCG on Boxing Day after recent alterations at the famous ground.

Concerns were raised over the Optus Stadium deck for the opening match of the three-Test series between Australia and Pakistan, with batsmen being struck by the ball on over 20 occasions.

While there were no serious injuries coming out of the clash due to the pitch, the alarm bells over the four days of play opened the door for Fox to stick the boot into the Optus Stadium’s curators.

“We won’t get a pitch which cracks badly and opens up … we just haven’t got those characteristics,” he said on SEN.

“We had issues many years ago and we have addressed those issues and we have been very consistent for about four years.

Marnus Labuschagne receives attention on the field after being struck by a delivery from Khurram Shahzad during the Perth Test

“We have renovated a number of pitches and we are renovating some at the moment.

“We have 12 pitches and we only have seven in at the moment and the Boxing Day pitch is just starting to be prepped.

“We’ve had two Shield game before Christmas and the pitch has performed well.”

Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh were among those to voice their criticism of the playing conditions, with the latter labelling Optus Stadium as “treacherous” for the batting side.

The visitors put up a solid fight in their first innings, but faltered under the pressure in their second dig, with the star-studded Aussie bowling attack cleaning Pakistan up for just 89 runs.

The second Test will begin on Tuesday, December 26th at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with no changes expected for Australia.