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Steve Smith loses his cool over MCG pitch after England bag dramatic Ashes Test

Soumyajit Dutta

Steve Smith observing the pitch [Source: AFP]Steve Smith observing the pitch [Source: AFP]

England secured their first Test victory on Australian soil in nearly 15 years with a four-wicket win on a tumultuous MCG pitch, and Australia captain Steve Smith was not happy about it. On a fiercely bowler-friendly condition, 36 wickets fell across six sessions, prompting debate over the quality of the surface and got Steve Smith talking on the MCG pitch.

While the hosts were dismissed for 152 and 132, England’s aggressive chase overcame their own first-innings collapse of 110 to claim the fourth Ashes Test.

Steve Smith reacts bluntly on MCG pitch

Speaking at the presentation, Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith said bluntly that the MCG pitch was too one-sided towards bowlers, and gave credit to England’s top order batters for softening the ball early on to make it a more achievable chase on a wicket that retained its bowling advantage.

“A very quick game, if we got 50-60 more across both innings we would be in it at the end. They were very aggressive when they came in, softened up the ball. The pitch did a fair amount for the whole game, just probably only when the ball got softened from a few lusty blows from their top order,” said Smith in the presentation.

However, the Aussie captain did realise that this isn’t exactly what the intention from the pitch was initially.

“A little bit too much in favour of the bowlers, nobody could really get in. When you see 36 wickets across two days that’s probably too much. Did more than [the curators] wanted it to, if we drop it down to 8 mm might be a little bit better,” Steve Smith said.

The result brings the series to 3-1 in Australia's favour, with England aiming for a second victory in the final Test in Sydney. While the MCG pitch bore the brunt of being one of the most controversial pitches in history, Sydney offers a more spin-heavy soil, with the teams likely to load up their arsenal with ball-turning vets.