The pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground has been roundly criticised following last weekend's low-scoring draw between Victoria and Queensland. Jimmy Maher, Queensland's captain, described the wicket as "diabolical and dangerous". While admitting that the strip was below standard, Tony Ware, the groundsman at the MCG, said that there was no question of it not being ready for the Boxing Day Test. "In the end it wasn't a good wicket but we shouldn't read into it that we've gone back to the dark old ages and we're going to have poor wickets all the time," he told The Australian newspaper. "It doesn't jeopardise what we're preparing for one-day internationals, the Boxing Day Test or anything here in the future."

Ware explained that much of the criticism stemmed from a depression in the pitch just short of a length which resulted in uneven bounce. "We didn't think it would have a great influence on the game so we tried to roll it out," he said. "But when we get one or two days out from a game we can't heavily water the wicket again and cross-roll it out. We were committed to what we had. It played fine the first day, but as it started to dry out the variation became more and more pronounced."

The MCG uses drop-in wickets, and the one identified for use in the Test was put in place in October. Ware is in no doubt that it will be all right come the match. "We've done some early rolling on it and it looks terrific," he said. "It looks in sensational condition. We're not going to have an issue with the Test."

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