By long tradition, a Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and New South Wales had been played at the MCG over the Christmas period dating back as far as 1865. [1] It included Boxing Day as one of the scheduled days of play, much to the chagrin of the NSW players who missed spending Christmas with their families as a result. The Melbourne Test was usually held over the New Year period, often starting on 1 January.
During the 1950–51 Ashes series, the Melbourne Test was played from 22 to 27 December, with the fourth day's play being on Boxing Day, but no test matches were played on Boxing Day in Melbourne between 1953 and 1967. Because there were six Tests in the 1974–75 Ashes series, in order to fit them all in to the overall schedule, the Third Test at Melbourne was scheduled to start on Boxing Day.
That was the origin of the modern tradition, although it was not until 1980 that it was formalised by the Australian Cricket Board, alongside the recent acquisition of its television rights by the Nine Network, and Melbourne emphasising its hosting of major sporting events (such as the AFL Grand Final and Australian Open) to offset the decline of its manufacturing industry.[2]
The Boxing Day Test has cultural significance and often draws large crowds,[3] although increased competition from Twenty20 fixtures in the Big Bash League has led to variances in attendance; the MCG hosted its largest Boxing Day crowd in 2013, the fourth Test of the 2013–14 Ashes series against England.[3]
Beer cup snake during the 2021 Boxing Day Test
Individual awardsedit
Since 1975, there has been an official Player of the Match named in each Boxing Day Test. Since 2020, the man of the match has received the Mullagh Medal, named in honour of Indigenous Australian cricketer Johnny Mullagh.[4][5]
In 1989, instead of a Test match, a One Day International was held on 26 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between Australia and Sri Lanka. Australia won by 30 runs in front of a crowd of 45,012.[24]
^ abcdCapacity of ground reduced due to redevelopment for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.
^A maximum of 30,000 people were allowed to attend each day due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]
Referencesedit
^"Victoria vs New South Wales, 1865-66". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
^"The surprisingly short history of the Boxing Day Test". ABC News. 24 December 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
^ abBoaz, Judd; Gordon, Oliver (22 December 2021). "Capacity crowds at Boxing Day Test and Australian Open still planned despite Omicron fears". ABC News. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
^Wales, Sean (9 December 2019). "'You get told about Bradman but not our mob': Test medal to honour Indigenous cricketing icon". ABC News. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
^"The Indigenous hole at Australian cricket's heart". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwx"Records – MCG Test Matches". Melbourne Cricket Ground. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
boxing, test, other, uses, disambiguation, match, cricket, test, match, held, melbourne, victoria, australia, involving, australian, cricket, team, opposing, national, team, that, touring, australia, during, southern, summer, begins, annually, boxing, december. For other uses see Boxing Day Test disambiguation The Boxing Day Test match is a cricket Test match held in Melbourne Victoria Australia involving the Australian cricket team and an opposing national team that is touring Australia during the southern summer It begins annually on Boxing Day 26 December and is played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground MCG Boxing Day TestThe Melbourne Cricket Ground during the first day of the 2015 Boxing Day Test matchStatusActiveGenreSporting eventBegins26 DecemberEndsOn or before 30 DecemberFrequencyAnnualVenueMelbourne Cricket GroundLocation s Melbourne VictoriaCountryAustraliaInaugurated1968 1968 Contents 1 History 1 1 Individual awards 2 List of Boxing Day Test matches 3 Overall Record Australia vs Visitors 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksHistory edit nbsp Cricket crowd at the Boxing Day test in 2007 By long tradition a Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and New South Wales had been played at the MCG over the Christmas period dating back as far as 1865 1 It included Boxing Day as one of the scheduled days of play much to the chagrin of the NSW players who missed spending Christmas with their families as a result The Melbourne Test was usually held over the New Year period often starting on 1 January During the 1950 51 Ashes series the Melbourne Test was played from 22 to 27 December with the fourth day s play being on Boxing Day but no test matches were played on Boxing Day in Melbourne between 1953 and 1967 Because there were six Tests in the 1974 75 Ashes series in order to fit them all in to the overall schedule the Third Test at Melbourne was scheduled to start on Boxing Day That was the origin of the modern tradition although it was not until 1980 that it was formalised by the Australian Cricket Board alongside the recent acquisition of its television rights by the Nine Network and Melbourne emphasising its hosting of major sporting events such as the AFL Grand Final and Australian Open to offset the decline of its manufacturing industry 2 The Boxing Day Test has cultural significance and often draws large crowds 3 although increased competition from Twenty20 fixtures in the Big Bash League has led to variances in attendance the MCG hosted its largest Boxing Day crowd in 2013 the fourth Test of the 2013 14 Ashes series against England 3 nbsp Beer cup snake during the 2021 Boxing Day Test Individual awards edit Since 1975 there has been an official Player of the Match named in each Boxing Day Test Since 2020 the man of the match has received the Mullagh Medal named in honour of Indigenous Australian cricketer Johnny Mullagh 4 5 List of Boxing Day Test matches editYear Opposition team Result Boxing Day Crowd Total Attendance Player of the Match Mullagh Medal 1968 nbsp West Indies nbsp Australia won by an innings and 30 runs 18 766 113 376 1974 nbsp England Draw 77 167 250 750 6 1975 nbsp West Indies nbsp Australia won by 8 wickets 85 661 222 755 6 nbsp Jeff Thomson 1980 nbsp New Zealand Draw 28 671 82 745 nbsp Richard Hadlee 1981 nbsp West Indies nbsp Australia won by 58 runs 39 982 134 081 6 nbsp Kim Hughes 1982 nbsp England nbsp England won by 3 runs 63 900 214 882 6 nbsp Norman Cowans 1983 nbsp Pakistan Draw 40 277 111 611 6 nbsp Graham Yallop 1985 nbsp India Draw 18 146 77 715 6 nbsp Allan Border 1986 nbsp England nbsp England won by an innings and 14 runs 58 203 107 817 6 nbsp Gladstone Small 1987 nbsp New Zealand Draw 51 807 127 184 6 nbsp Richard Hadlee 1990 nbsp England nbsp Australia won by 9 wickets 49 763 129 530 6 nbsp Bruce Reid 1991 nbsp India nbsp Australia won by 8 wickets 42 494 89 369 6 nbsp Bruce Reid 1992 nbsp West Indies nbsp Australia won by 139 runs 28 397 83 320 6 nbsp Shane Warne 1993 nbsp South Africa Draw 15 604 a 48 565 6 nbsp Mark Taylor 1995 nbsp Sri Lanka nbsp Australia won by 10 wickets 55 239 105 388 6 nbsp Glenn McGrath 1996 nbsp West Indies nbsp West Indies won by 6 wickets 72 891 131 671 6 nbsp Curtly Ambrose 1997 nbsp South Africa Draw 73 812 160 182 6 nbsp Jacques Kallis 1998 nbsp England nbsp England won by 12 runs 61 580 159 031 6 nbsp Dean Headley 1999 nbsp India nbsp Australia won by 180 runs 49 082 a 134 554 6 nbsp Sachin Tendulkar 2000 nbsp West Indies nbsp Australia won by 352 runs 73 233 133 299 6 nbsp Steve Waugh 2001 nbsp South Africa nbsp Australia won by 9 wickets 61 796 153 025 6 nbsp Matthew Hayden 2002 nbsp England nbsp Australia won by 5 wickets 64 189 b 177 658 6 nbsp Justin Langer 2003 nbsp India nbsp Australia won by 9 wickets 62 613 b 179 662 6 nbsp Ricky Ponting 2004 nbsp Pakistan nbsp Australia won by 9 wickets 61 552 b 129 079 6 nbsp Damien Martyn 2005 nbsp South Africa nbsp Australia won by 184 runs 71 910 b 192 338 6 nbsp Michael Hussey 2006 nbsp England nbsp Australia won by an innings and 99 runs 89 155 7 244 351 6 nbsp Shane Warne 2007 nbsp India nbsp Australia won by 337 runs 68 465 8 166 663 8 nbsp Matthew Hayden 2008 nbsp South Africa nbsp South Africa won by 9 wickets 63 263 8 174 246 8 nbsp Dale Steyn 2009 nbsp Pakistan nbsp Australia won by 170 runs 59 206 8 156 267 8 nbsp Shane Watson 2010 nbsp England nbsp England won by an innings and 157 runs 84 345 8 240 156 8 nbsp Jonathan Trott 2011 nbsp India nbsp Australia won by 122 runs 9 70 068 8 189 347 9 nbsp James Pattinson 2012 nbsp Sri Lanka nbsp Australia won by an innings and 201 runs 67 138 8 137 455 8 nbsp Mitchell Johnson 2013 nbsp England nbsp Australia won by 8 wickets 91 112 8 271 865 8 nbsp Mitchell Johnson 2014 nbsp India Draw 69 993 194 481 nbsp Ryan Harris 2015 nbsp West Indies nbsp Australia won by 177 runs 53 389 127 069 10 11 12 13 nbsp Nathan Lyon 2016 nbsp Pakistan nbsp Australia won by an innings and 18 runs 63 478 a 142 188 14 15 16 17 18 nbsp Steve Smith 2017 nbsp England Draw 88 173 261 335 nbsp Alastair Cook 2018 nbsp India nbsp India won by 137 runs 19 73 516 176 539 nbsp Jasprit Bumrah 2019 nbsp New Zealand nbsp Australia won by 247 runs 80 473 20 203 472 21 nbsp Travis Head 2020 nbsp India nbsp India won by 8 wickets 27 615 c 89 472 23 nbsp Ajinkya Rahane 2021 nbsp England nbsp Australia won by an innings and 14 runs 57 100 140 671 nbsp Scott Boland 2022 nbsp South Africa nbsp Australia won by an innings and 182 runs 64 876 155 714 nbsp David Warner 2023 nbsp Pakistan nbsp Australia won by 79 runs 62 167 164 835 nbsp Pat Cummins 2024 nbsp India 2025 nbsp England 2026 nbsp New Zealand In 1989 instead of a Test match a One Day International was held on 26 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between Australia and Sri Lanka Australia won by 30 runs in front of a crowd of 45 012 24 Overall Record Australia vs Visitors editOpposition Team GP W L D Recent Test nbsp England 13 7 4 2 Boxing Day 2021 nbsp India 9 5 2 2 Boxing Day 2020 nbsp New Zealand 3 1 0 2 Boxing Day 2019 nbsp Pakistan 5 4 0 1 Boxing Day 2023 nbsp South Africa 7 3 2 2 Boxing Day 2022 nbsp Sri Lanka 2 2 0 0 Boxing Day 2012 nbsp West Indies 9 6 2 1 Boxing Day 2015 Total 48 28 10 10 Boxing Day 2023 Percentages 58 21 21See also editBoxing Day Test South Africa Boxing Day Test New Zealand Notes edit a b c It rained on Boxing Day a b c d Capacity of ground reduced due to redevelopment for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games A maximum of 30 000 people were allowed to attend each day due to the COVID 19 pandemic 22 References edit Victoria vs New South Wales 1865 66 ESPNcricinfo Retrieved 3 January 2021 The surprisingly short history of the Boxing Day Test ABC News 24 December 2016 Retrieved 11 October 2023 a b Boaz Judd Gordon Oliver 22 December 2021 Capacity crowds at Boxing Day Test and Australian Open still planned despite Omicron fears ABC News Retrieved 30 December 2021 Wales Sean 9 December 2019 You get told about Bradman but not our mob Test medal to honour Indigenous cricketing icon ABC News Retrieved 10 December 2019 The Indigenous hole at Australian cricket s heart ESPN Cricinfo Retrieved 2 July 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Records MCG Test Matches Melbourne Cricket Ground Retrieved 3 January 2012 Melbourne Cricket Ground Attendances Archived from the original on 29 March 2015 a b c d e f g h i j k l m Recent MCG Cricket Attendances Retrieved 3 January 2012 a b India tour of Australia 2011 12 1st Test ESPN EMEA Ltd Retrieved 3 January 2012 OFFICIAL CROWD FIGURE 53 389 AUSvWI twitter com MCG Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015 Official attendance today 40 516 AUSvWI MCG twitter com MCG Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015 Official attendance today 26 003 AUSvWI MCG twitter com MCG Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015 Today s attendance for Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test is 7 161 AUSvWI twitter com MCG Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015 MCG 26 December 2016 Today s official attendance at the MCG 63 478 AusvPak Tweet via Twitter MCG 27 December 2016 Official Attendance on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test 39 339 AUSvPAK Tweet via Twitter MCG 28 December 2016 Official attendance at the G for Day 3 of the Test is 25 393 AUSvPAK Tweet via Twitter MCG 29 December 2016 For those playing at home the official attendance for today was 7789 AusvPak Tweet via Twitter MCG 30 December 2016 ozrobbo It was 6189 Tweet via Twitter Australia vs India 3rd Test India in Aus 2018 19 ESPNcricinfo Retrieved 28 December 2019 Boxing Day Test 80 000 fans turn up in record attendance at Melbourne Retrieved 28 December 2019 2nd Test Australia d New Zealand d4 austadiums com Retrieved 28 December 2019 Boxing Day Test attendance increased Melbourne Cricket Club Retrieved 26 December 2020 Cricket Results amp Crowds austadiums com Retrieved 16 January 2021 Australia vs Sri Lanka 1st Match Benson amp Hedges World Series 1989 90 ESPNcricinfo Retrieved 3 January 2021 External links editHistory of MCG Boxing Day Tests Scoreboard 1968 Boxing Day Test Scoreboard 1974 Boxing Day Test Scoreboard 1975 Boxing Day Test Scoreboard 1980 Boxing Day Test 37 49 12 S 144 59 00 E 37 82000 S 144 98333 E 37 82000 144 98333 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Boxing Day Test amp oldid 1219052267, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
