MCG pitch in spotlight again after 17 wickets tumble on the opening day

Queensland were bowled out for 149 and Victoria slumped to 61 for 7 in reply during the first day of red-ball cricket at the ground since the Ashes Test

Alex Malcolm

Feb 5, 2026, 8:06 AM • 6 hrs ago

Victoria 61 for 7 (Handscomb 25*, Neser 3-9) trail Queensland 149 (Burdon 43, Elliott 4-43, Moody 3-24) by 88 runs

The MCG pitch was in the spotlight again after 17 wickets fell on the opening day of the Sheffield Shield game between Victoria and Queensland although Peter Handscomb and Michael Neser defended the surface and instead credited both teams' bowlers for the state of the game.

It was the first red-ball game at the MCG since the ICC handed down an unsatisfactory rating for the Boxing Day pitch and curator Matt Page held a press conference after the match to apologise for leaving 10mm of grass on the Test surface with the short game having cost Cricket Australia millions.

Related

'We've gone too far' - The three millimetres which created a firestorm

MCG curator in 'state of shock'; Head offers support after costly two-day finish

ICC rates MCG Boxing Day Test pitch 'unsatisfactory'

Neser was unplayable again, just as he was on Boxing Day when he took four wickets to bowl England out for 110. He had figures of 7-4-3-3 at one stage as Victoria slumped to 11 for 5. They would reach stumps on 61 for 7 with Victoria captain Handscomb unbeaten on 25.

That came after Queensland had been bowled out for just 149 with Sam Elliott continuing his excellent Shield form claiming 4 for 43, including the big scalp of Marnus Labuschagne. David Moody also picked up 3 for 24, causing Queensland's lower middle-order all sorts of problems with extra bounce from back of a length.

The last two BBL matches at the MCG in January were also low-scoring affairs with Melbourne Stars bowled out for 128 against Sydney Sixers before Adelaide Strikers were bowled out for 83 against Stars on the same surface five days later, with players suggesting there was uneven bounce.

Victoria coach Chris Rogers told SEN on Wednesday that Page "looked a little bit stressed" earlier in the week. Page cut the grass to 7mm for the Sheffield Shield pitch, which was on the far eastern side of the square and different to both the BBL pitch, the Test surface and the one that was used for the One-Day Cup match between the same sides on Tuesday which played reasonably well, with Queensland wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson saying, "the pitch...was a little slow, but pretty flat."

The Shield pitch looked more like the Boxing Day Test version, and Peirson was one of only four batters on the day who survived more than 33 deliveries with Queensland opener Hugo Burdon top-scoring with 43 from 104 deliveries.

Neser was asked whether there was as much seam movement as Boxing Day. "Nah," Neser he post-play. "I don't think it was doing as much. I think he cut it down to [7mm] there, and the wicket actually looks half decent. But it did do a bit when we were out there.

"But then there was moments where you felt actually quite comfortable and you could score. We did bowl very well as a unit. I think we were very tight. Barely missed a ball there, so made it hard for them."

Handscomb agreed with Neser's view and strongly defended Page in his assessment of the surface.

"I still think it's a good wicket," he said. "And I back Pagey in what he's done here over the last four or five years. The game before, against WA, before the Test match had more grass on it and it went into day four. So I think we can maybe jump at shadows a little bit here and blame it all on the wicket. I wouldn't say bad batting. I'd say good bowling."

Batting did not look particularly difficult in the opening session as Queensland eased their way to 74 for 1 just prior to lunch having been sent in.

Burdon and Usman Khawaja put on an opening stand of 47 and looked relatively comfortable. Victoria's seamers were a fraction short with their lengths with Burdon unfurling a cracking pull shot to get going. The openers played with soft hands to keep a number of edges short of the slips.

Mitchell Perry made the first breakthrough nipping a beauty back through the gate of Khawaja from around the wicket. Labuschagne made 10 off 19 but was visibly displeased when given out lbw to Elliott suggesting the ball was missing, despite leg stump being visible behind him when he was struck on the pad.

Queensland were 77 for 2 at lunch before losing 8 for 72 after the break. Hugh Weibgen nicked a superb delivery from Fergus O'Neill that angle in and nipped away. Burdon's patient 43 from 104 ended when he was surprised by some extra bounce from Elliott as he sliced a catch to gully. O'Neill bagged another when Lachlan Hearne lost his off stump not offering.

Moody then exploited that extra bounce from the Members' End when he got one to rear at Neser to catch the shoulder of the bat. Peirson batted nicely for 25 in the tricky conditions but was given out caught down the leg side by another that climbed. He, too, looked unimpressed with the decision. Moody got another to leap from a length to catch Hayden Kerr's outside edge.

Mitchell Swepson threw the bat to post an unbeaten and valuable 22 not out before Elliott cleaned up the tail. But one of his wickets came at a cost, with Tom Rogers breaking his finger taking another excellent catch in the gully. Rogers was subbed out of the game for Harry Dixon with Perry being promoted to No. 5 during Victoria's collapse while Dixon entered at No. 7.

Two debatable umpiring decisions contributed to Victoria's collapse. Campbell Kellaway was given out caught behind to Neser when he appeared to miss it by some margin. Sam Harper was Jem Ryan's first wicket on first-class debut when he was adjudged lbw not offering a shot, but the bounce appeared excessive as Harper was struck on the top of the pad having got well forward.

Neser produced two more stunning deliveries. Victoria's debutant Dylan Brasher shouldered arms after previously being beaten on the outside from around the wicket only for Neser to nip one back to hit the top of off. Perry played on first ball trying to defend one that also nipped in sharply off the seam.

Handscomb held firm and looked a cut above most of the other batters in the game. Despite losing more around him, with Dixon losing his off stump to a stunning delivery from Hayden Kerr, Handscomb was resolute to get to stumps unbeaten.

Alex Malcolm is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo

Click here to read article