Ashes 2025/26: Greg Chappell questions Test cricket’s future amid MCG pitch controversy

The recently concluded Melbourne Test between Australia and England has been a topic of discussion. The match ended in just two days, leading to widespread criticism of the pitch. So far, several cricket experts from India and around the world have criticised the Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch. The result of this match was decided within just 144 overs. On the first day of the match, 20 wickets fell in 76.1 overs, while on the second day too, the sequence of wickets falling continued, and 16 wickets fell in 65.5 overs. In this match, England defeated Australia by 4 wickets and achieved their first victory of this tour.

For the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the ICC declared the pitch "unsatisfactory." The venue also received one demerit point, which will be applied for a rolling five-year term. Now, in his column, the former Australian captain has also raised questions about the future of Test cricket, given the below-par performances of batsmen during the Ashes series. In a way, he has served as an early warning, given the current state of Test cricket.

He added that during the ongoing Ashes 2025/26, two of the four tests have been wrapped up in two days, which is raising questions about the batters as well as the pitch conditions.

"Two tests in the series have failed to reach day three, not due to superior skill but a glaring absence of desire. Batters slashed wildly, abandoning technique for bravado, as if playing their "natural game" excused capitulation," Chappell wrote.
 
"They let down predecessors who bled for this rivalry; they shortchanged fans who braved the holiday heat; they betrayed their own generation by forsaking cricket's core tenets—playing each ball on merit, scrapping for every run, enduring bruises for the greater good," he added.

Chappell further acknowledged that Test cricket has completely changed today because of the white ball. But he also raised the question: do current generations of players value Test cricket as much as previous generations?

"I get that white-ball cricket has changed the game and power is valued more in the marketplace today than the ability to absorb pressure, but if the modern player does value Test cricket, as they say, then they must show it by being able to bat collectively for a minimum of 100 overs in any conditions. If they can't, or won't, do that, then the format is doomed," he wrote.

Greg Chappell's remarks are a serious warning for Test cricket's future. He thinks that current batters' unwillingness to spend time at the crease and adjust to changing circumstances is the real issue, not pitches or conditions. According to Greg Chappell, the influence of white-ball cricket is destroying the patience, discipline, and determination required for Test cricket. He worries that Test cricket may lose its unique characteristics unless players demonstrate, through their batting, that they genuinely appreciate the longest format.