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Australian captain Tim Paine and New Zealand counterpart Kane Williamson have applauded the much-maligned MCG wicket following the Boxing Day Test.

After years of lifeless MCG wickets, Australian captain Tim Paine has hailed the Boxing Day Test wicket as brilliant.

The Australians finished off New Zealand late on day four on Sunday to win the trans-Tasman series.

There was huge pressure on MCG curator Matthew Page to deliver a safe and competitive wicket.

A Sheffield Shield game between Victoria and Western Australia at the venue was abandoned three weeks ago for being too dangerous

In recent years, particularly following a dull draw against England in 2017, the pitch came under scathing criticism.

But Paine called it a fantastic wicket which had something for everyone.

"I thought it was a brilliant wicket. I thought it offered quite a bit on day one, if you bowled the right length," Paine said.

"The same on day two; then it started to spin a little bit.

"I thought all the bowlers who bowled well took wickets and all the batters who applied themselves and spent some time out there scored runs."

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson opted to bowl first after winning the toss.

For an over, at least, that decision looked justified as Black Caps seamer Trent Boult bowled Australian opener Joe Burns with a perfect inswinger four balls in.

Williamson said the Australian bowlers simply used the conditions better than the Black Caps.

"They did manage to extract a bit out of the surface and I think it was a good surface," Williamson said.

"We had opportunities early from winning the toss; Australia negated that and played very well, then took the game away from us.

"It made way for a fair surface and a surface that is conducive to a result."