The Ashes: MCG pitch ruled 'unsatisfactory' by ICC following two-day Test

The Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch has received a demerit point after being deemed 'unsatisfactory' by the International Cricket Council Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

It comes after a whirlwind fourth Ashes Test concluded after just two days of play, as 36 wickets fell across only 142 overs with no batter managing to record a half-century.

Thanks, in part, to the pitch at the MCG, England secured their first Test victory on Australian soil since 2011, but Australia have already retained the Ashes after winning the first three Tests.

Head curator Matthew Page admitted he was in a "state of shock" at how the penultimate match of the series unfolded on a surface that had 10mm grass left on, producing lavish movement for seam bowlers.

Despite England's four-wicket win, captain Ben Stokes felt there would be "hell on" if the Melbourne pitch was produced elsewhere in the world, and the ICC has handed down its second-lowest rating.

Match referee Jeff Crowe said: "The MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers. With 20 wickets falling on the first day, 16 on the second day and no batter even reaching a half-century, the pitch was 'unsatisfactory' as per the guidelines and the venue gets one demerit point."

Pitches are rated either 'very good', 'satisfactory', 'unsatisfactory' or 'unfit'. If a ground receives six demerit points over a rolling five-year period, it will be hit with a 12-month ban from staging international matches.

While the first Test at Perth last month also produced a two-day finish, with Australia drawing first blood in the five-match series, the pitch there received the ICC's highest rating of 'very good'.

"You come to watch a broad variety of skills and the game develop over a period of time. You are going to get extreme conditions from time to time but we have had two [two-day Tests] now in this series and I don't think we want to see this too frequently."