The ICC ranked the MCG pitch as “unsatisfactory” putting it on notice of further action if it is repeated. Matt Page, the groundsman in Melbourne, was put up to speak to the media after the game to explain what went wrong and admitted he was in a “state of shock” after day one.

“I don’t think a groundsman has ever been under as much pressure as the guy here this week,” Stokes said at his eve of match press conference.

It is likely a straight choice on Sunday for England between Shoaib Bashir or Matt Potts for the final place in the XI. Bashir has played one competitive match since the Lord’s Test against India in July and Potts’ last Test was in Hamilton in December 2024.

Stokes and Brendon McCullum spent long periods studying the pitch on Saturday and it is drier than expected prompting them to consider two spinners for the first time on a seam dominated tour.

There is a lot at stake for Stokes and the management with a 3-2 scoreline far more likely to ensure there is little major change in the set up than if it ends 4-1 and their only win was a shootout on a dicey pitch in Melbourne.

“Obviously the result this week isn’t going to change what happens at the end of this game,” said Stokes. “The Ashes for us, unfortunately, hasn’t gone the way we wanted it to but we’ve got one more game in a big game in a big series, and it’s a real big one for us.”