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Cook dismisses pitch switch

MELBOURNE: England opener Alastair Cook on Monday played down a growing row over Australia's move to change pitches for the vital Melbourne Ashes Test, saying it was simply exploiting “home advantage”.

Cook shrugged “you'd expect everyone to do it” after news that the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was preparing a green pitch that will favour Australia's pace attack and offer little turn for England spinner Graeme Swann.

“That is the beauty of home conditions, isn't it?” Cook told journalists in Perth, before the team's departure for Melbourne.

“You can prepare a pitch to hopefully suit the home side. That is what we try and do in England in certain cases. There is no reason I would expect Australia not to do it.”

British media have accused the MCG of changing pitches after Australia's emphatic 267-run win on Perth's green deck levelled the series at 1-1 with two games to play.

But MCG Chief Executive Stephen Gough said the decision to use the alternative pitch was made before the Perth Test.

“I'd hate to think if we released it after Perth whether anyone would think we were up to something. I'm not surprised with the conspiracy theory, given the success in Perth.” — AFP

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