MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Melbourne Cricket Ground staff have admitted that the pitch prepared for the Boxing Day test was skewed too heavily in favor of bowlers, as an attempt to avoid a dull draw instead triggered a frantic two-day landslide of wickets.
Curator Matt Page, recruited to inject “life” into the MCG deck following a lifeless 2017 Ashes stalemate, conceded Sunday that leaving 10mm of grass on the surface proved excessive. The decision resulted in 36 wickets falling across just 142 overs of play, leaving the surface under intense scrutiny from players and officials alike.
“I was in a state of shock after the first day... to see 20 wickets in a day,” Page said. “I’ve never been involved in a test match like it and hopefully never involved in a test match like it again.
"It was a roller-coaster ride for two days to see everything unfold.”
The result marked the first time in 129 years a series has produced multiple two-day finishes, following a similar result in the first Ashes test at Perth.
Despite a first win for England in Australia since 2011, captain Ben Stokes was scathing in his assessment, suggesting that other nations would face harsher consequences for such conditions.
“I’m pretty sure if that was somewhere else in the world there’d be hell on,” Stokes said to the BBC after the match ended Saturday. “With 36 wickets in less than two days and no total over 200, I think you can read into that a lot.
"If that was another condition somewhere else... you probably would get a pasting.”
Despite the criticism and the millions of dollars in refunds for ticketholders triggered by the early finish, Australian Travis Head, the leading run scorer for the series, defended the difficulty of the groundsman’s role.
“Everyone wants to see wickets. No one wants to see blokes get 300s, Head said. "There needs to be a balance and sometimes we’re going to see the balance like last week err to the batters and some weeks we’re going to see it to the bowlers.
“So I do feel for him especially, obviously, in terms of the Boxing Day test and the amount of people. It’s been highly talked about and it’s probably the most talked about Ashes series that we’ve seen for a long time in terms of the last three or four weeks around everything that everyone does.”
ICC match referee Jeff Crowe is expected to rate the surface this week, which takes into account feedback from both captains.
The fifth and final test of the series starts Jan. 4 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Australia leads the series 3-1 and has retained the Ashes.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Australia's Jake Weatherald his bowled by England's Ben Stokes on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
England's Ben Stokes pauses before bowling a delivery to Australia on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
England's Brydon Carse, right, completes a caught and bowled on Australia's Michael Neser, left, on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn't scoring the way he usually does, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still winning the way they normally do.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, averaged 31.1 points during the regular season. In the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, he is averaging 20 points and taking only 14 shots per game.
Oklahoma City has still won the first two games by an average of 18 points. Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each scored 22 points, and the defending champion Thunder beat the Lakers 125-107 on Thursday night.
Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of injured Jalen Williams, is averaging 19 points on 50% shooting in the series for Oklahoma City.
“I think the coaching staff does a good job at just getting all of us ready,” said Mitchell, a second-year guard. "And we have a lot of competitors. Like, everyone’s a competitor on our team. So every time the lights are bright, everyone’s ready to go.”
Holmgren is the leading scorer for the Thunder in the best-of-seven series with 23 points per game. The 2026 All-Star also is averaging 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.
Jared McCain, a midseason acquisition from the Philadelphia 76ers, barely played in the first round against Phoenix but has averaged 15 points and made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the series.
“He goes in there, stays in character, stays aggressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "He’s going to shoot the next shot. He makes the right plays, plays inside the team. He competes defensively, has had good defensive possessions for us. And he was huge tonight. You need that in a playoff series.”
The Lakers again were without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. They also were missing forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the reserve forward who dislocated the pinkie on his right hand during the second quarter of Game 1. The Lakers had three players finish with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness late in the game.
Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot in Game 1, scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Game 2. LeBron James, coming off a 27-point effort in Game 1, followed that up with 23.
With the Lakers up 63-61 early in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander got tied up with Reaves and was called for his fourth foul. Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for Gilgeous-Alexander's follow through. Oklahoma City's Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul as the situation was being sorted out.
Gilgeous-Alexander left the game with the Lakers up 65-61, but the Thunder rallied and took control without him. On a fast break, Holmgren found a trailing Jaylin Williams, who hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. His free throw put the Thunder up 85-74.
The Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out in the third quarter to take a 93-80 lead into the fourth.
“It was amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They strung together stops, they’re playing the right way offensively and things are going their way. Full confidence in those guys. They know how to win basketball games. And we've proven that. They’ve proven that no matter who’s on the floor, they know how to get the job done. And they just did it again tonight."
The Lakers cut Oklahoma City's lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder pulled away again.
Los Angeles will host Game 3 on Saturday.
“We just stuck with it,” Holmgren said. “It’s the game of basketball. It’s not always going to go your way. It’s about how you respond. And this team has proven many times that we know how to respond. And we did so tonight.”
This story has been corrected to show that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 20, not 19, points per game against the Lakers.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren (7) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves (15) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, front, works for a shot as Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves, rear, defends in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James stands on the court in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers' Deandre Ayton (5) and LeBron James, rear, in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) works to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
