'Don't know where that started': Andrew McDonald denies MCG pitch 'speculation' as under-fire curator defended

Australian coach Andrew McDonald has leapt to the defence of curator Matthew Page after the annual Boxing Day Test ended inside two days.

The pitch at the MCG was skewed heavily towards the bowlers as 36 wickets fell in England's drought-breaking victory on Aussie soil.

Page admitted on Sunday morning that he was in "a state of shock" watching play unfold on the deck he prepared and conceded he got it wrong.

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The ground staff have copped heavy criticism during and after the match, but coach McDonald was quick to throw his support behind Page and the rest of the team.

"A lot has been spoken about the pitch and just off the top, I want to talk about the evolution of that and the job that Matt Page has actually done, getting it from where it was to where it is now," he told media on Monday morning.

"It's always a tricky, fine balance and he does an outstanding job.

"The perspective that I always use is we have bad Test matches as well - this Test we weren't at our best and sometimes these things can happen.

"We support him in what he's done and are really proud of the evolution of the MCG."

It was the second time this summer a Test match had finished before the end of day two and those results have cost Cricket Australia millions of dollars in revenue.

McDonald also denied there had been any communication regarding the type of pitch the Australian team wanted at the MCG and shut down that speculation.

"I don't know where or how that started," he said.

"Our conversations with the ground staff are always 'how do you think it will play and what do you think it may do' and then we're able to shape a team in and around that.

"I don't know how to roll a wicket, I don't know how to prepare a wicket - our job is to go out there and solve the problems it presents. To speculate that we've had a say in our wickets over a period of time would be very incorrect.

"I don't wanna get to a situation where we are asking for specific surfaces. I don't think Australia will ever go there and I don't think they've ever been there.

"We've got to take some accountability in how we played as well.

"I think it's a little bit of an outlier - Perth and here are two of the shortest Test matches in history. To me, there are outliers and we do have a great habit - maybe not a habit - but we do catastrophise one-off events.

"We like to do that and it creates stories, but at the end of the day it's about supporting Matt Page in what he's done … let's not catastrophise things too much."

McDonald's comments come after Travis Head admitted he felt for Page and the team after the backlash the MCG pitch copped from current and past players.