Melbourne, Dec 27 (IANS) England captain Ben Stokes said the wicket for the fourth Test of the Ashes series at Melbourne would likely attract greater criticism if it had been prepared somewhere else in the world, adding that one wouldn’t like to see a game finish in less than two days.

The 10mm of grass left on the pitch resulted in 36 wickets falling in six sessions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), as England ended a 14-year wait for a Test match victory in Australia with a four-wicket win. England dismissed Australia for 132 in their second innings to set themselves a chase of 175 to win, which they completed after losing six wickets.

"When you go out there, and you're faced with conditions, you've got to crack on and deal with it. But, being brutally honest, that's not really what you want. A Boxing Day Test match, you don't want a game finishing in less than two days.

“Not ideal, but you can't change it once you start the game, and you've just got to play what's in front of you. But I'm pretty sure if that was somewhere else in the world…" Stokes told reporters in the post-match press conference.

Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith questioned the preparation of the MCG pitch, saying he was ‘not sure’ why head groundsman Matthew Page had chosen to leave so much grass on the surface. The issue is set to be addressed by Page when he speaks to the media on Sunday.

"We let them judge it and do what they see fit. I said before the game that it looked like it was going to offer a fair amount, and it probably did more than we thought it was going to. It's tough as a groundsman, I think he's always looking for the right balance. I suppose last year's wicket was an outstanding one, it went to day five (in the) last session.

“In an ideal world, every wicket does that, and it's exciting for everyone. Maybe if you took it from 10 (mm) to eight, it would have been a nice, challenging wicket, make it a little bit more even, I suppose. But groundsmen are always learning, and he'll probably take something from that, no doubt," he said.

--IANS

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