Page said that he was “really disappointed” with the outcome, and pledged to ensure that the MCG does not produce another two-day finish. “I was in a state of shock after the first day, to see everything that happened, 20 wickets in a day,” he said. “I’ve never been involved in a Test match like it, and hopefully never involved in a Test match like it again.
“Every year is different and the margins are very small, but in the back of your mind, you’re always trying to provide that contest. We’re about trying to provide captivating Test cricket, that balance between bat and ball going four or five days.
“We’ve produced a Test that’s been captivating, but it hasn’t gone long enough and we’ll take ownership of that. We’ll learn from it, we’ll grow, and we’ll make sure that we’ll get it right next year.”
Head, whose second-innings 46 was the highest score of the match, sympathised with Page and said that groundstaff had it “bloody tough”. He also drew comparisons with the pitches prepared for last year’s MCG Test – in which India lost seven wickets in the final session to lose – and the third Ashes Test in Adelaide which saw both batting line-ups underperform.
“Adelaide last week was probably one of the better batting wickets I’ve seen and I think we batted poorly on day one; England probably batted poorly [too],” he said. “When we went to bed on day one, everyone was talking 500-600, and if one team bats really, really well then goes big, we’d potentially see a draw in a batting-friendly game and go, ‘Oh, has it gone the other way?’
“You’re 1-2mm [of grass] away from it going the other way and seeing a more bowler-friendly week… You’ve got to take the good with the bat. Everyone’s trying to evolve and get better.
“You look at the Test match last year, and India batted poorly on the last day… It probably looks like it’s going to a draw, and then there’s question marks around: are we going too far the other way?
“I feel for him [Page]. It’s bloody tough. You leave 1-2mm on with high-quality bowling and you find yourself short, and you take 2-3mm off with high-quality batting and you leave yourself the other way.”
Stuart Fox, the chief executive of Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), hinted that reckless batting was a contributing factor in the early finish, and said that he would stand by Page. “We brought Matt on eight years ago because he’s considered one of the best in the country – if not the best – and I still believe that and I always will,” Fox said.
“It’s clearly favoured the bowlers, but I sat there, and you were all watching this Test. The batting was extraordinary to watch. It was entertaining, and they were having a go, weren’t they? There’s lots of debate around bat vs the pitch. It is what it is.
“I can’t control that in any way other than our responsibility is to provide a pitch with good balance between bat and ball, and we just weren’t able to do that. I think it demonstrates the fine margins and the difficulty this guy here [Page] faces every week, so I’m here to support him.”
“We don’t want to go back to where we were in 2017,” Page said. “If we don’t have seam movement here at the MCG, we become very dull, very lifeless and very flat, which is no good for the players, no good for the spectators, and no good for the game.”
Alastair Cook, who made 244 not out in that Test, joked in his Sunday Times column that he was to blame for the two-day finish. “I can only apologise to the two batting line-ups and people with day three and four tickets,” Cook wrote. “It was the best I ever batted and yet after watching two days of it people decided they never wanted to see anything like it again!”
Todd Greenberg, CA’s chief executive, said before play on the second day that short Tests are “bad for business” and, along with chair Mike Baird, held talks with MCC officials later in the day. “They’re disappointed that it’s gone two days,” Fox said. “That’s the feedback… We’ll work with Cricket Australia and I’m sure we’ll be able to respond.”
Matt Roller is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98