MCG ground profile

The MCG, the biggest ground in Australia and one of the most famous in the world, is the setting for this week's fourth Test, which begins on Boxing Day and Australia and England will be hoping to get the most out of it.

Even though the series is over as a contest, close to 100,000 people will cram into the MCG on Boxing Day hoping to see something special.

In recent history, the pitch offers the bowlers plenty of encouragement with the new ball, while batsmen who get in have a good chance to make a decent score.

In general, contests at the MCG have been tightly contested over the years, with several nail-biting finishes but more than anything, it is a result pitch, with just 15 draws in 98 Tests there.

More than half of the Tests have been won by the side batting first with the pitch taking more spin and variable bounce increasing as the match goes on.

Not surprisingly, Australia have an excellent record in Melbourne, with 55 wins, 15 draws and 28 losses in the 98 Tests to have been played at the WACA. The home side have also won 13 of the last 20 there, with their last defeat coming back in 1998/9, to England.

Interestingly, of the last 20 Tests there, 10 have been won by the side batting first and seven by the side batting second, with the other three ending in draws.

Of late, though, batting first would appear to give a narrow advantage. In the past 20 Tests, the average score by a batsman in the first innings of the match is 34.6, while in the second it's 30.2.

For the batsmen in the team batting third, it's down to 28.1 and batting last is tough as it's 24.3.

The highest score made to win a Test in Perth is just 332 for 7, achieved by England way back in the 1928-29 series, but that's the only winning score over 300.

P W1 W2 T D %R Ave Ave1 Ave2 Ave3 Ave4 runs/6 balls
98 50 33 0 15 85% 29.65. 31.5 31.0 28.0 26.2 26.2 2.69