The second day of the 2006 Boxing Day test match

The Boxing Day Test match is a cricket Test match hosted in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia involving the Australian cricket team and the opposition national team touring Australia that summer. It begins annually on Boxing Day (26 December), and is played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

[edit] History

Cricket crowd at the Boxing Day test in 2007

In 1950 the first ever Australian Boxing Day Test was hosted at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. No Boxing Day Tests were played in Melbourne between 1953 and 1967, and periodically the Australian Cricket Team played on Boxing Day in other nations. However in 1980 the Melbourne Cricket Club and the Australian cricket team secured the rights to play the match annually.

[edit] Boxing Day One Day International

In 1989, a One Day International was played instead of a Test match, involving Australia and Sri Lanka, which Australia won by 30 runs.^[1]

[edit] List of Boxing Day Test matches

Year	Opposition team	Result	Day 1 Crowd	Total Attendance
1950[2]	England	Australia won by 28 runs	60,486
1952[3]	South Africa	South Africa won by 82 runs
1968	West Indies	Australia won by an innings and 99 runs
1974	England	Draw	77,167
1975	West Indies	Australia won by 8 wickets	85,661
1980	New Zealand	Draw
1981	West Indies	Australia won by 58 runs	39,982
1982	England	England won by 3 runs	63,900
1983	Pakistan	Draw	40,240
1984[4]	West Indies	Draw
1985	India	Draw	29,108
1986	England	England won by an innings and 14 runs	58,203
1987	New Zealand	Draw	51,807
1988[3]	West Indies	West Indies won by 258 runs
1989	Sri Lanka	Australia won	45,102	(One-day match)
1990	England	Australia won by 9 wickets	49,763
1991	India	Australia won by 8 wickets	42,494
1992	West Indies	Australia won by 139 runs	49,414
1993	South Africa	Draw	15,604 (rain)
1994[3]	England	Australia won by 295 runs	51,620
1995	Sri Lanka	Australia won by 10 wickets	55,239
1996	West Indies	West Indies won by 6 wickets	72,891
1997	South Africa	Draw	73,812
1998	England	England won by 12 runs	61,580
1999	India	Australia won by 180 runs	49,082 (rain)
2000	West Indies	Australia won by 352 runs	73,233
2001	South Africa	Australia won by 9 wickets	61,796
2002	England	Australia won by 5 wickets	64,189
2003	India	Australia won by 9 wickets	62,613	179,662
2004	Pakistan	Australia won by 9 wickets	61,552	129,079
2005	South Africa	Australia won by 184 runs	71,910	192,000
2006	England	Australia won by an innings and 99 runs	89,155	244,351
2007	India	Australia won by 337 runs	68,465
2008	South Africa	South Africa won by 9 wickets	63,263	174,246
2009	Pakistan	TBA	59,206	TBA

[edit] External links

• History of MCG Boxing Day Tests

[edit] Other Boxing Day Tests

In New Zealand an annual Boxing Day Test Match was played at Basin Reserve in Wellington, involving the New Zealand cricket team as one of the competing sides. Over the past few years the Boxing day Test has been phased out for a One Day International and Twenty20 matches involving New Zealand and the touring opposition national team.

In South Africa a Boxing Day Test is often played if another national team is touring to play the South African cricket team. It is traditionally played at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban.

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