| Boxing Day Test | |
| Status: | Active |
| Genre: | Sporting event |
| Begins: | 26 December |
| Ends: | On or before 30 December |
| Frequency: | Annual |
| Venue: | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Location: | Melbourne, Victoria |
| Country: | Australia |
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).
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.
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]
| Year | Opposition team | Result | Boxing Day Crowd | Total Attendance | Player of the Match - Mullagh Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | won by an innings and 30 runs | 18,766 | 113,376 | |||
| 1974 | Draw | 77,167 | 250,750 | |||
| 1975 | won by 8 wickets | 85,661 | 222,755 |  Jeff Thomson | ||
| 1980 | Draw | 28,671 | 82,745 |  Richard Hadlee | ||
| 1981 | won by 58 runs | 39,982 | 134,081 | Kim Hughes | ||
| 1982 | won by 3 runs | 63,900 | 214,882 | Norman Cowans | ||
| 1983 | Draw | 40,277 | 111,611 | Graham Yallop | ||
| 1985 | Draw | 18,146 | 77,715 | Allan Border | ||
| 1986 | won by an innings and 14 runs | 58,203 | 107,817 | Gladstone Small | ||
| 1987 | Draw | 51,807 | 127,184 | Richard Hadlee | ||
| 1990 | won by 9 wickets | 49,763 | 129,530 | Bruce Reid | ||
| 1991 | won by 8 wickets | 42,494 | 89,369 | Bruce Reid | ||
| 1992 | won by 139 runs | 28,397 | 83,320 | Shane Warne | ||
| 1993 | Draw | 15,604 | 48,565 | Mark Taylor | ||
| 1995 | won by 10 wickets | 55,239 | 105,388 | Glenn McGrath | ||
| 1996 | won by 6 wickets | 72,891 | 131,671 | Curtly Ambrose | ||
| 1997 | Draw | 73,812 | 160,182 | Jacques Kallis | ||
| 1998 | won by 12 runs | 61,580 | 159,031 | Dean Headley | ||
| 1999 | won by 180 runs | 49,082 | 134,554 |  Sachin Tendulkar | ||
| 2000 | won by 352 runs | 73,233 | 133,299 | Steve Waugh | ||
| 2001 | won by 9 wickets | 61,796 | 153,025 | Matthew Hayden | ||
| 2002 | won by 5 wickets | 64,189 | 177,658 | Justin Langer | ||
| 2003 | won by 9 wickets | 62,613 | 179,662 | Ricky Ponting | ||
| 2004 | won by 9 wickets | 61,552 | 129,079 | Damien Martyn | ||
| 2005 | won by 184 runs | 71,910 | 192,338 | Michael Hussey | ||
| 2006 | won by an innings and 99 runs | 89,155[6] | 244,351 | Shane Warne | ||
| 2007 | won by 337 runs | 68,465 | 166,663 | Matthew Hayden | ||
| 2008 | 63,263 | 174,246 | Dale Steyn | |||
| 2009 | won by 170 runs | 59,206 | 156,267 | Shane Watson | ||
| 2010 | won by an innings and 157 runs | 84,345 | 240,156 | Jonathan Trott | ||
| 2011 | won by 122 runs[7] | 70,068[8] | 189,347 | James Pattinson | ||
| 2012 | won by an innings and 201 runs | 67,138 | 137,455 | Mitchell Johnson | ||
| 2013 | won by 8 wickets | 91,112 | 271,865 | Mitchell Johnson | ||
| 2014 | Draw | 69,993 | 194,481 | Ryan Harris | ||
| 2015 | won by 177 runs | 53,389 | 127,069[9] [10] [11] [12] | Nathan Lyon | ||
| 2016 | won by an innings and 18 runs | 63,478 | 142,188[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] | Steve Smith | ||
| 2017 | Draw | 88,173 | 261,335 | Alastair Cook | ||
| 2018 | won by 137 runs[18] | 73,516 | 176,539 | Jasprit Bumrah | ||
| 2019 | won by 247 runs | 80,473[19] | 203,472[20] | Travis Head | ||
| 2020 | won by 8 wickets | 27,615 | 89,472[21] | Ajinkya Rahane | ||
| 2021 | won by an innings and 14 runs | 57,100 | 140,671 | Scott Boland | ||
| 2022 | won by an innings and 182 runs | 64,876 | 155,714 | David Warner | ||
| 2023 | won by 79 runs | 62,167 | 164,835 | Pat Cummins | ||
| 2024 | ||||||
| 2025 | ||||||
| 2026 |
| Opposition Team | GP | W | L | D | Recent Test | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | Boxing Day 2021 | ||
| 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | Boxing Day 2020 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Boxing Day 2019 | ||
| 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | Boxing Day 2023 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | Boxing Day 2022 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Boxing Day 2012 | ||
| 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | Boxing Day 2015 | ||
| Total | 43 | 26 | 8 | 9 | Boxing Day 2023 | |
| Percentages | 60 | 19 | 21 |