Todd Greenberg on MCG Pitch and Short Tests

cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg has admitted the Boxing Day Test fiasco, saying “quizzes are bad for business”. The fourth Ashes Test at the MCG ended on day two with a four-wicket victory for England.

CA were hoping to set new crowd records across the full Boxing Day Test at the MCG. After losing around A$5 million (US$3.3 million) from the two-day Perth Test, the Australian cricket team could face another big loss.

“Quizs are bad for business”

Speaking before the start of play on day two, Greenberg was asked if 20 wickets in a day was too many. “The short answer to that, in my opinion, is yes,” Greenberg said. “While it is magical, fascinating and fun to watch as a fan, we clearly want Test cricket to continue for much longer.”

“The simple phrase I would use is that quizzes are bad for the work. I can’t be more frank than that. So I would like to see a little bit wider balance between bat and ball. I thought yesterday the ball was a little bit favored. The batsmen have some ownership in some of these things, and it’s not just all over the pitch, but we have some challenges.”

Will California intervene in the near future?

Many former players criticized the MCG on the first day, saying that it helped the fast bowlers a lot. Greenberg was then asked whether Cricket Australia would play a bigger role in preparing Test pitches.

“Historically, we have taken a hands-off approach to all our wicket preparations and allowed personnel, conditions and those characteristics to be introduced,” Greenberg said. “But it’s hard not to get more involved when you see the impact on the sport, especially commercially.

“I’m not suggesting we’ll talk to ground staff, but we have to carefully monitor our forecasts over the course of the summer.

Bad timing for CA

Cricket Australia has already cut costs this year, including laying off staff and cutting spending in other areas. With Greenberg working to bring private investment into BBL, another big loss from this test would come at a bad time.

“I didn’t sleep well last night, put it that way,” Greenberg said. “It was a fantastic day for Test cricket, so for the record number of people who were here, they had an experience. But our challenge is to make sure we can continue those experiences day in and day out. That’s the challenge for all of us.”

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