Boxing Day Test

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Boxing Day Test
Boxing Day Test 2015.jpg
The Melbourne Cricket Ground during the first day of the 2015 Boxing Day Test match
StatusActive
GenreSporting event
Begins26 December
EndsOn or before 30 December
FrequencyAnnual
Venue Melbourne Cricket Ground
Location(s) Melbourne, Victoria
Country Australia
Inaugurated1968 (1968)

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).

Contents

History

Cricket crowd at the Boxing Day test in 2007 Boxingaday.jpg
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 formalized by the Australian Cricket Board, alongside the recent acquisition of its television rights by the Nine Network, and Melbourne emphasizing 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 Beer cup stacking at the MCG.jpg
Beer cup snake during the 2021 Boxing Day Test

Individual awards

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

YearOpposition teamResultBoxing Day CrowdTotal AttendancePlayer of the Match - Mullagh Medal
1968WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by an innings and 30 runs18,766113,376
1974Flag of England.svg  England Draw77,167250,750 [6]
1975WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 8 wickets85,661222,755 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jeff Thomson
1980Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Draw28,67182,745 Flag of New Zealand.svg Richard Hadlee
1981WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 58 runs39,982134,081 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kim Hughes
1982Flag of England.svg  England Flag of England.svg  England won by 3 runs63,900214,882 [6] Flag of England.svg Norman Cowans
1983Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Draw40,277111,611 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Graham Yallop
1985Flag of India.svg  India Draw18,14677,715 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Allan Border
1986Flag of England.svg  England Flag of England.svg  England won by an innings and 14 runs58,203107,817 [6] Flag of England.svg Gladstone Small
1987Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Draw51,807127,184 [6] Flag of New Zealand.svg Richard Hadlee
1990Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 9 wickets 49,763129,530 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bruce Reid
1991Flag of India.svg  India Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 8 wickets 42,49489,369 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bruce Reid
1992WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 139 runs 28,39783,320 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Shane Warne
1993Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa Draw 15,604 [lower-alpha 1] 48,565 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Taylor
1995Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 10 wickets 55,239105,388 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Glenn McGrath
1996WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies won by 6 wickets 72,891131,671 [6] WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg Curtly Ambrose
1997Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Draw 73,812160,182 [6] Flag of South Africa.svg Jacques Kallis
1998Flag of England.svg  England Flag of England.svg  England won by 12 runs 61,580159,031 [6] Flag of England.svg Dean Headley
1999Flag of India.svg  India Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 180 runs 49,082 [lower-alpha 1] 134,554 [6] Flag of India.svg Sachin Tendulkar
2000WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 352 runs 73,233133,299 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Waugh
2001Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 9 wickets 61,796153,025 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matthew Hayden
2002Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 5 wickets 64,189 [lower-alpha 2] 177,658 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Justin Langer
2003Flag of India.svg  India Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 9 wickets 62,613 [lower-alpha 2] 179,662 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ricky Ponting
2004Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 9 wickets 61,552 [lower-alpha 2] 129,079 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Damien Martyn
2005Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 184 runs 71,910 [lower-alpha 2] 192,338 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Michael Hussey
2006Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by an innings and 99 runs 89,155 [7] 244,351 [6] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Shane Warne
2007Flag of India.svg  India Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 337 runs 68,465 [8] 166,663 [8] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matthew Hayden
2008Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa won by 9 wickets 63,263 [8] 174,246 [8] Flag of South Africa.svg Dale Steyn
2009Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 170 runs 59,206 [8] 156,267 [8] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Shane Watson
2010Flag of England.svg  England Flag of England.svg  England won by an innings and 157 runs 84,345 [8] 240,156 [8] Flag of England.svg Jonathan Trott
2011Flag of India.svg  India Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 122 runs [9] 70,068 [8] 189,347 [9] Flag of Australia (converted).svg James Pattinson
2012Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by an innings and 201 runs 67,138 [8] 137,455 [8] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mitchell Johnson
2013Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 8 wickets 91,112 [8] 271,865 [8] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mitchell Johnson
2014Flag of India.svg  India Draw 69,993194,481 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Harris
2015WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 177 runs 53,389127,069 [10] [11] [12] [13] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Nathan Lyon
2016Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by an innings and 18 runs 63,478 [lower-alpha 1] 142,188 [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Smith
2017Flag of England.svg  England Draw 88,173261,335 Flag of England.svg Alastair Cook
2018Flag of India.svg  India Flag of India.svg  India won by 137 runs [19] 73,516176,539 Flag of India.svg Jasprit Bumrah
2019Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 247 runs 80,473 [20] 203,472 [21] Flag of Australia (converted).svg Travis Head
2020Flag of India.svg  India Flag of India.svg  India won by 8 wickets 27,615 [lower-alpha 3] 89,472 [23] Flag of India.svg Ajinkya Rahane
2021Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by an innings and 14 runs 57,100140,671 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Scott Boland
2022Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by an innings and 182 runs 64,876155,714 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Warner
2023Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia won by 79 runs 62,167164,835 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Pat Cummins
2024Flag of India.svg  India
2025Flag of England.svg  England
2026Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand

Overall Record - Australia vs Visitors

Opposition TeamGPWLDRecent Test
Flag of England.svg  England 13742Boxing Day 2021
Flag of India.svg  India 9522Boxing Day 2020
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 3102Boxing Day 2019
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 5401Boxing Day 2023
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 7322Boxing Day 2022
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 2200Boxing Day 2012
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 9621Boxing Day 2015
Total48281010Boxing Day 2023
Percentages582121

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 It rained on Boxing Day.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Capacity of ground reduced due to redevelopment for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.
  3. ↑ A maximum of 30,000 people were allowed to attend each day due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [22]

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References

  1. ↑ "Victoria vs New South Wales, 1865-66". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  2. ↑ "The surprisingly short history of the Boxing Day Test". ABC News. 24 December 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 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.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "The Indigenous hole at Australian cricket's heart". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 "Records – MCG Test Matches". Melbourne Cricket Ground. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "Melbourne Cricket Ground Attendances". Archived from the original on 29 March 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Recent MCG Cricket Attendances" . Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  9. 1 2 "India tour of Australia, 2011/12 (1st Test)". ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  10. ↑ OFFICIAL CROWD FIGURE: 53,389 #AUSvWI twitter.com/MCG. Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015
  11. ↑ Official attendance today: 40,516. #AUSvWI #MCG twitter.com/MCG. Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015
  12. ↑ Official attendance today: 26,003. #AUSvWI #MCG twitter.com/MCG. Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015
  13. ↑ Today's attendance for Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test is 7,161 #AUSvWI twitter.com/MCG. Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015
  14. ↑ @MCG (26 December 2016). "Today's official attendance at the MCG: 63,478. #AusvPak" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ↑ @MCG (27 December 2016). "Official Attendance on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test: 39,339 #AUSvPAK" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ↑ @MCG (28 December 2016). "Official attendance at the 'G for Day 3 of the Test is 25,393 #AUSvPAK" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ↑ @MCG (29 December 2016). "For those playing at home, the official attendance for today was 7789. #AusvPak" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ↑ @MCG (30 December 2016). "@ozrobbo: It was 6189" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ↑ "Australia vs India, 3rd Test - India in Aus 2018-19". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  20. ↑ "Boxing Day Test: 80,000 fans turn up in record attendance at Melbourne" . Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  21. ↑ "2nd Test: Australia d New Zealand (d4)". austadiums.com. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  22. ↑ "Boxing Day Test attendance increased". Melbourne Cricket Club. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  23. ↑ "Cricket Results & Crowds". austadiums.com. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  24. ↑ "Australia vs Sri Lanka, 1st Match - Benson & Hedges World Series 1989-90". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2021.

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