AUS vs PAK 2023: Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch history and Test records
The 2023 Boxing Day Test match will begin tomorrow at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where defending WTC champions Australia will take on Pakistan. The Aussies crushed the Shan Masood-led outfit in the first Test of the three-match series.
Pat Cummins and Co. will look forward to continuing the momentum and securing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Meanwhile, Masood will try to motivate his men and avoid a series loss in his first outing as a captain.
Before the second match of the Australia vs Pakistan series starts, here's a look at MCG's pitch history and Test records.
Melbourne Cricket Ground Test records and stats
MCG is one of the oldest venues in Test cricket history. This stadium has hosted 115 Tests so far, with Australia emerging victorious in 66 of them. 32 times the MCG Test has ended in the visiting team's favor, while the remaining 17 games ended in a stalemate.
Here is a list of some vital stats you should know from previous Tests hosted by Melbourne:
Test Matches played: 115
Matches won by teams batting first: 56
Matches won by teams batting second: 42
Matches tied: 0
Matches drawn: 17
Highest team total: 624/8 dec - Australia vs. Pakistan, 2016
Lowest team total: 36 - South Africa vs. Australia, 1932
Highest successful run-chase: 332/7 - England vs. Australia, 1928
Highest individual score: 307 - Robert Cowper (AUS) vs. England, 1966
Best bowling figures (innings): 9/86 - Sarfaraz Nawaz (PAK) vs. Australia, 1979
Best bowling figures (match): 15/124 - Wilfred Rhodes (ENG) vs. Australia, 1904
Average first innings score: 306
Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch report
The MCG pitch report will be broadcast shortly before Pat Cummins and Shan Masood walk out for the toss in Melbourne. Generally, the pitch has been good for batting. Back in 2016, Australia scored a mammoth 624/8d against Pakistan at this venue.
Considering Pakistan's dismal record on Australian soil, the home team will start as the favorites to win the Boxing Day Test match. Expect Australia's batters and fast bowlers to dominate the game.
Melbourne Cricket Ground last Test
Australia crushed South Africa by an innings and 182 runs in the last Test match hosted by Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was last year's Boxing Day Test match. Cameron Green's five-wicket haul helped the Aussies bowl their rivals out for 189 runs in the first innings.
The Aussies posted 575/8d on the board in the first innings, riding on David Warner's double century. Despite Temba Bavuma's 65-run knock, South Africa managed only 204 runs in the second innings and lost the game by a big margin.
28 wickets fell in the Test match, with fast bowlers accounting for 19. The batters of the two teams registered six half-centuries, one century, and one double hundred in three innings.
Brief Scores: South Africa 189 (Marco Jansen 59, Cameron Green 5/27) & 204 (Temba Bavuma 65, Nathan Lyon 3/58) lost to Australia 575/8d (David Warner 200, Anrich Nortje 3/92) by an innings and 182 runs.