Legends pitch in after day of MCG carnage

SOME of the biggest names in Ashes cricket have attacked the state of the MCG pitch after a chaotic opening to the fourth Test in Melbourne.

- BY RORY DOLLARD

Following warnings all week that there was a lot of green on top of the wicket, Ben Stokes, above, had no hesitation in bowling first when he won the toss.

That was a move that prompted a day where both sides were bowled out in just 75 overs combined.

Any hopes of a good contest over five days vanished before tea on day one.

Not since 1909 had two innings previously been completed on the first day of an Ashes Test, with Australia dismissed for 152 and England for an even lower score of 110.

And when the carnage was over, there was no shortage of legends of the game queuing up to have their say.