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Australia\u2019s red-hot pace battalion will be given ideal conditions to inflict more misery upon Pakistan\u2019s batters, who have vowed to fight fire with fire on a Boxing Day Test track expected to start off as a paceman\u2019s paradise.<\/p>\n
Whatever gifts Santa leaves under the tree for Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for Christmas is likely to be at least matched the following day by MCG ground staff if the plans of head curator Matt Page bear fruit.<\/p>\n
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The MCG pitch five days before the match.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Luis Enrique Ascui \/ The Age<\/cite><\/p>\n Eager to continue the revival of what had been one of the most maligned and benign patches of turf in world cricket, Page is aiming to prepare a seam-friendly strip that will be in contrast to the lifeless featherbeds that are the norm in Pakistan.<\/p>\n In another blow to hopes for a competitive game, Pakistan\u2019s already weakened pace attack will be without one of their shining lights from Perth after Khurram Shahzad was ruled out of the series with a rib stress fracture and an abdominal muscle tear.<\/p>\n MCG head curator Matt Page on the prized turf.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>The Age<\/cite><\/p>\n So worried are the Pakistanis that they are underdone they have hastily arranged a two-day practice game at Junction Oval behind closed doors with no media access against a makeshift Victoria XI, featuring Test aspirant Marcus Harris and young batting star Will Pucovski, to adjust to local conditions.<\/p>\n Any match involving a touring team should theoretically be a precious opportunity to showcase the sport, but Cricket Australia said \u201cthe match is closed to the public due to the late request for the fixture which provided logistical challenges in allowing patrons and media to attend\u201d.<\/p>\n But there will be no hiding on Boxing Day for Pakistan, who have lost their last 15 Tests on these shores, when a crowd of 70,000 fans is expected through the gates.<\/p>\n The green top which greeted Pakistan on Wednesday will likely be of a different hue by next week but if the pitches rolled out for the Shield this season are any indication then Shan Masood\u2019s men, dismissed for 89 in the final innings at Optus Stadium, face another stern examination with the bat from Australia\u2019s vaunted attack.<\/p>\n Seamers have taken 67 of the 76 wickets to fall in the two Shield matches at the MCG this season, while there has been just one score of 300 from eight innings.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can get the pace and bounce like we\u2019ve had in the Shield pitches, we\u2019ll be very happy,\u201d Page said.<\/p>\n The MCC has overhauled its pitch preparation after receiving a rating of poor for the 2017 Ashes Test when 24 wickets fell across the five days. With their pitch having lost its identity, and branded as a \u201cbowler\u2019s graveyard\u201d by the late Victorian great Dean Jones, the MCC, after much introspection, sought to produce a more lively strip.<\/p>\n \u201cWe sat down \u2026 and we decided like this is what we want to produce, this is where we want to go, and it was having more life, trying to get more pace and bounce, and I\u2019m trying to get a little bit more seam movement,\u201d Page said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people pay their hard-earned money to come in here on Boxing Day and people are turning on the TV and they want to see excitement.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s what I guess what we\u2019re trying to do every year. We don\u2019t always get it right but we\u2019re always striving to produce that contest.\u201d<\/p>\n Pakistan batter Saul Shakeel, who dug in for 28 and 24 in the first Test, said his team would be more proactive at the crease after scoring at a sedate 2.66 runs per over in the first innings, compared to Australia\u2019s 4.29, when conditions were less challenging for batting.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to be more positive with our batting approach and play more attacking shots to get runs,\u201d Shakeel said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second innings in Perth, the cracks were opening a little bit, it was slightly difficult to bat on the fourth day. They bowled well in their areas but the cracks in the pitch played more of a role.<\/p>\n \u201cThe matches I have seen in Melbourne are not that hard to bat on. We\u2019re looking forward to this Test match.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps one of those games he had seen was Pakistan\u2019s last Boxing Day appearance in 2016 when former opener Azhar Ali made an unbeaten 205 in their declared total of 9-443. The visitors still lost \u2013 by an innings and 18 runs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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