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โThatโs a good question, weโve clearly favoured the bowlers in what weโve done,โ Page said. โHow you look at that and where that sits on the scale, itโs not for me to decide. Iโll leave that up with Jeff Crowe.โ
Page was as surprised as the cricket world after 20 wickets fell on Boxing Day.
โI was in a state of shock,โ Page said. โIโve never been involved in a Test match like it and hopefully never involved in a Test match like that again. It was a roller coaster ride for two days to see everything unfold.โ
Page defended his teamโs decision to leave 10 millimetres of grass on the pitch. He had shaved the pitch down to seven millimetres last year when Australia defeated India in the final session of day five, but the cooler and wetter weather leading into this game combined with heat on days three and four meant he needed a different approach.
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โWe donโt get inconsistent bounce, we donโt get deterioration in our pitches and weโre trying to balance that contest between bat and ball throughout four or five days to provide that captivating Test for all,โ Page said.
โFor us, we left it longer because we knew we were going to get weather at the back end that we knew where we needed our grass at.
โYou look back at it and go itโs favoured the bowlers too much days one and two. If that doesnโt happen we set ourselves up really good for days three and four.โ
This Test was in contrast to eight years ago when Australia and England played out a dull draw in which bat dominated ball. It prompted crisis talks between the MCC and cricket authorities on the traits an ideal MCG pitch should have.
โIf we donโt have seam movement at the MCG, we become very dull, very lifeless and very flat,โ Page said. โThatโs no good for the players, the spectators and no good for the game. For us, itโs about providing that seam movement. Weโve gone too far with this one and weโre very, very disappointed itโs only gone two days.โ
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