Rival skippers Steve Smith and Joe Root criticized the lifeless Melbourne pitch after the fourth Ashes Test on Saturday, only the second draw in the Boxing Day Test in 20 years.

The drop-in pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was relentless for bowlers, with a total of 1,081 runs scored and only 24 wickets taken over five days.

Australia skipper Smith said something had to be done about the state of the MCG pitch. Talking to the reporters, he said, “It hasn’t changed over five days and I’d say if we were playing for the next couple of days it probably wouldn’t change at all either. It’s got to find a way to have some pace or bounce or take some spin or do something.”

He further added, “Obviously we saw a reasonable amount of reverse swing throughout the game but the ball just gets so soft so quickly because the surface is quite hard and it’s really difficult to get people out.”

While, England’s Root said the pitch wasn’t suitable for the Boxing Day Test. He said, “I think as a player you can only respond to what’s there in front of you. I think we did that. Obviously, you want to see results and go out and win games. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that this week.”

Cricket Victoria chief executive Tony Dodemaide said it might be time to dig up the much-maligned MCG wicket and start again. he said, “It might be that the lifespan of a particular drop-in pitch might be shorter than what we saw for the pitches that were all-year round.”