Legendary pitch whisperer Les Burdett has given the Melbourne Cricket Ground's (MCG) much-maligned wicket his emphatic seal of approval less than a week out from the Boxing Day test.
Fears Australia and New Zealand would be subjected to a substandard pitch were raised when a Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and Western Australia (WA) at the iconic venue was abandoned due to a dangerous surface.
Following that debacle Burdett, the highly respected curator at Adelaide Oval for 40 years and adviser with Cricket Australia (CA), was brought in to supervise test preparations.
After surveying the pitch prepared by MCG curator Matt Page, Burdett is not only confident the wicket will be safe, but that it will also make for an entertaining contest.
"The initiatives done for this year, I never say 100 percent on anything, but I'm 99.99 percent sure that this is going to be a test Match worth watching because the situation has changed," Burdett told reporters on Friday.
"It just looks healthy... I can walk down the side of that pitch now and it just has the goods.
"[They're] going to leave a bit of grass on there.
"You'll have a pitch that has more life in it than in years gone by because the characteristics and the structure of it has changed."
The strip being prepared for the Boxing Day test is not the same one that was deemed unsafe due to uneven bounce that saw several WA batsmen hit by balls rearing up off a good length.
That situation arose after Page watered the pitch more than he usually would in a bid to produce a more lively wicket, as he was urged to by CA and venue operators the MCC.
But a change in weather conditions left the pitch too wet, creating dangerous divots in the wicket as it dried.
It continued a disappointing run for a wicket square widely criticised for producing lifeless, flat surfaces that allow batsmen to dominate.
The pitch was given a 'poor' rating by the ICC following the drawn Boxing Day test against England in 2017.
But alterations have been made under the surface of the centre wicket, with the underpinning concrete slab removed.
While Burdett is confident the Boxing Day pitch will be a success, he feels for Page as he prepares the most scrutinised 22 yards of turf in the country.
"He's hurting, he loves the game and the industry, and all he wants to do is do the right thing by everybody," he said.
"The last thing we want to do as curators is embarrass our families, our friends and the stadium.
"We want it to be right.
"... I'm just coming in to support these guys who are doing their utmost.
"They're good technicians the boys here ... they know what they're doing."
AAP
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