Criticism of the docile drop-in pitch produced for the Boxing Day Test continues to flow thick and fast, with Brad Haddin saying he is depressed by the state of affairs.
The MCG has produced remarkably flat decks for the iconic Test in recent years.
There was hope curator Matt Page, who took over soon after last year's dull Ashes draw that prompted the match referee to grade the MCG pitch poor, would inject a bit more life into the much-maligned strip.
But the evidence on day one of the third Test between Australia and India wasn't encouraging, with just two wickets falling.
"I’m depressed," Australia's assistant coach Haddin said on Thursday morning.
"It was a grind yesterday. There wasn’t much going on but we have to turn up today and find a way to get the rest of those wickets."
If this pitch is judged poor by match referee Andy Pycroft then the MCG will be given three demerit points under the International Cricket Council's disciplinary system, which was introduced soon after the 2017 Boxing Day Test.
A venue receiving five demerit points over a rolling five-year period will be banned from hosting any internationals for 12 months.
Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive Kevin Roberts suggested it was too early to judge the deck but conceded it was time to regenerate the centre wicket block.
CA and the MCG have already mapped out a long-term fix, with the underlying concrete slab likely to be replaced by a more modern system at the end of this season.
Haddin, speaking on SEN, highlighted the contrast with the lively pitch produced for the second Test.
"We've got four days to go, to get a win out of this Test match," the former keeper said.
"We saw in Perth, what we loved about that game was it was a contest between bat and ball."
Express paceman Pat Cummins, who claimed both wickets to fall on Boxing Day, didn't expect the deck to break up much at all.
"I haven't played too much here but it normally just gets better and better to bat on," Cummins said on Seven.
"It didn't feel like you're going to get a lot out of it unless you bend your back.
"It's not a wicket where you feel like you're going to blast them out ... really tight fields, bowl lots and lots of maidens and hopefully they make a mistake."
Australian Associated Press
