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)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Mattias Samuelsson had a goal and two assists as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Saturday night for their eighth straight victory.
Samuelsson’s three-point night came together in a three-goal second period with assists on goals by Ryan McLeod and Peyton Krebs.
Josh Norris added an empty-netter late and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 21 saves for Buffalo.
The Sabres’ win streak is their longest since they won 10 in a row in November 2018.
David Pastrnak scored in the first period for the Bruins, who have lost five in a row and six of their last seven games. Joonas Korpisalo made 30 saves.
ISLANDERS 2, RANGERS 0
NEW YORK (AP) — David Rittich made 27 saves for his ninth career shutout, Anders Lee scored less than a minute into the game, and the New York Islanders blanked the New York Rangers.
Lee’s unassisted goal 58 seconds in extended his point streak to five games as the Islanders won their second straight. Simon Holmstrom added an empty-netter with 16 seconds left in the game.
The Islanders’ Bo Horvat returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games with a lower-body injury.
Igor Shesterkin finished with 24 saves but the Rangers were shut out for the seventh time this season.
LIGHTNING 4, PANTHERS 2
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Pontus Holmberg scored with 7.3 seconds left in the first period to put Tampa Bay on top for good, Nikita Kucherov scored twice and the Lightning beat Florida Panthers in another penalty-filled matchup between the Sunshine State rivals.
Jake Guentzel also scored for Tampa Bay, which has won three straight. Kucherov sealed it with an empty-netter with 56 seconds left.
Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen scored for the Panthers, who lost for just the second time in their last seven games. Florida was 1 for 11 on the power play.
CAPITALS 4, DEVILS 3, OT
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Defenseman Jakob Chychrun scored in overtime and Logan Thompson made 35 saves as Washington beat New Jersey.
Chychrun beat Devils netminder Jake Allen with his 15th goal 4:06 into the extra session to lift Washington to only its second win in its last eight games. New Jersey lost its third straight.
Aliaksei Protas also scored and added two assists for Washington. Anthony Beauvillier and Alex Ovechkin also scored for the Capitals who are 11-1-0 in their last 12 visits to Prudential Center.
The visitors led 2-1 entering the third period before the Devils scored twice in a 32-second span to move ahead. Ovechkin then tied the game at 3 with his 15th goal, the NHL-record 912th of this career at 9:17.
Jesper Bratt — who had just one goal since Nov. 6 — scored twice for New Jersey. Cody Glass also scored for the Devils, who have lost 13 of their last 20 games.
HURRICANES 5, RED WINGS 2
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrei Svechnikov each had a goal and two assists and Carolina snapped a season-worst three-game skid with a win over Detroit in a matchup of divisional leaders.
Jackson Blake and Eric Robinson scored during the Hurricanes’ three-goal second period. Jordan Martinook, who missed the three previous games with an injury, scored his 100th career goal with an empty-netter with 1:21 to play. Brandon Bussi made 18 saves and boosted his record to 12-1-1.
Michael Rasmussen and Andrew Copp scored for the Atlantic Division-leading Red Wings. John Gibson stopped 33 shots and lost for the first time in nine December outings.
MAPLE LEAFS 7, SENATORS 5
TORONTO (AP) — Captain Auston Matthews shook off a slump with a goal and two assists, and Matthew Knies scored twice to lead Toronto to a win against the Ottawa.
Matthews, who had gone four games without a point, got his first three-point outing of the season. He set up William Nylander on the power play to open the scoring, assisted on Bobby McMann’s go-ahead goal early in the second period, and scored on his next shift for a 4-2 Toronto advantage.
The Senators pulled to within a goal twice, but Knies’ second with 14:07 remaining stood up as the winner.
The Maple Leafs jumped out to a 2-0 lead after a power-play goal by Knies. But Ottawa’s Nick Cousins scored late in the first period, and Ridly Greig pulled his team even 18 seconds into the second period.
WILD 4, JETS 3, OT
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Matt Boldy scored two goals, including the winner just 39 seconds into overtime, to lead Minnesota to a come-from-behind victory over the Winnipeg.
Mats Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov also scored for Minnesota. Quinn Hughes added three assists.
Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist each, and Josh Morrissey also scored for Winnipeg.
BLUES 3, PREDATORS 2
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pavel Buchnevich scored twice, Brayden Schenn had a goal for his 700th career point, and St. Louis beat the Nashville.
Joel Hofer made 29 saves for the Blues, who beat Nashville after dropping two previous meetings this month. Hofer has won four of his last five starts.
Tyson Jost and Fedor Svechkov scored for the Predators and Jusse Saros made 17 saves. The loss snapped Nashville’s three-game winning streak.
BLACKHAWKS 4, STARS 3, SO
DALLAS (AP) — Rookie Nick Lardis scored in the fourth round of the shootout to give Chicago a win over Dallas.
The Blackhawks, last in the overall NHL standings, snapped a six-game losing streak. The Stars, second in the overall standings, lost a second consecutive game after regulation following a four-game winning streak.
Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice, former Star Jason Dickinson added a goal and Arvid Soderblom made 28 saves through overtime for the Blackhawks. Soderblom, getting his 12th start with Chicago beginning a back-to-back, snapped a personal five-game skid during which he allowed 29 goals.
Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists, and Nils Lundkvist and Justin Hrychowian also scored for the Stars. Jake Oettinger stopped 30 shots.
KINGS 6, DUCKS 1
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alex Laferriere scored three times and the Los Angeles finally found their offense in a win over Anaheim.
Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist, Drew Doughty and Trevor Moore also scored, and Anze Kopitar added three assists as the Kings tied their season high for goals. Anton Forsberg made 24 saves.
Mason McTavish had a power-play goal and Lukas Dostal stopped 24 shots for the Ducks, who have dropped four of five.
AVALANCHE 6, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, SO
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Martin Necas scored two goals in regulation and another during the shootout and Colorado beat Vegas.
Nathan MacKinnon also scored for Colorado in the shootout, while Mitch Marner was the only one to score for the Knights.
Colorado, which extended its win streak to seven games, has registered points in 27 of its last 28 games. The Avalanche are 23-1-4 during that stretch.
The Avs also improved to 9-1-2 in their last 12 on the road.
Colorado is the only team in the NHL with at least 60 points, sitting atop the Central Division with 63.
Vegas has now lost four of its last five, having split the first two of a four-game homestand. In earning a point for the 10th time in 12 games, the Knights took sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division with 45 points, one point ahead of both Anaheim and Edmonton.
FLAMES 3, OILERS 2
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Blake Coleman scored his 11th goal of the season with 7:29 to play and Calgary edged Edmonton.
Yegor Sharangovich and Ryan Lomberg also scored for Calgary, while Dustin Wolf made 29 saves in his 100th NHL game.
Evan Bouchard and Connor McDavid scored for Edmonton. McDavid’s goal extended his scoring streak to 12 games (13 goals, 19 assists), which has carried him into top spot in league scoring. Connor Ingram also had 29 saves in suffering his first loss.
SHARKS 6, CANUCKS 3
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Macklin Celebrini had a goal and an assist in a return to his hometown, powering San Jose past Vancouver.
The 19-year-old center extended his point streak to seven games, with five goals and nine assists during that stretch.
Igor Chernyshov scored his first NHL goal and added an assist for the Sharks. Ryan Reaves, John Klingberg, William Eklund and Collin Graf each had a goal. Yaroslav Askarov stopped 24 shots as San Jose snapped a three-game skid.
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen reaches for the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
