Melbourne Cricket Ground head curator Matt Page said on Sunday he was in a “state of shock” watching the carnage unfold during the two-day fourth Ashes Test which has left Cricket Australia facing millions of dollars in revenue shortfall. 

Page and his team left 10 millimetres of grass on the wicket, providing fast bowlers with excessive seam movement and bounce which made batting treacherous. Thirty-six wickets tumbled in 142 overs, 20 on the first day, and the game was all over in the evening session of Day Two as England won by four wickets for their first victory in Australia since January 2011.