Last year’s Boxing Day Test was over inside three days, as Australia defeated England in a one-sided Ashes contest.
Australia’s vice-captain Steve Smith said he hoped Melbourne would be kinder to the batsmen, rating the pitch at the Gabba as “probably” the toughest he had played on in his home country.
“Some balls were hitting the wicket, some were bouncing and it was incredibly difficult to bat against,” Smith said on Wednesday.
“Whether it was unsafe or not is not really my forte, but it certainly wasn’t easy to bat.
“As a batsman, I would like to take (wickets) a bit less.
“I think it’s a good balance just trying to compete between bat and ball.”
Australia would like to seal the three-match series with another win in Melbourne.