The Boxing Day Tests that are played in Australia and South Africa are very historic. It's probably what all cricket fans look forward to post Christmas. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has hosted the match for many years. SuperSport Park in Centurion is South Africa's primary location. There's a storied history behind these matches.
Boxing Day in sports commemorates the return of action to the pitch on the first day after Christmas. Every year, 26 December is referred to as ‘Boxing Day’ in all sports around the world.
Boxing Day Tests are a traditional and a significant part of international cricket. Although there is no concrete evidence, it's widely assumed that the, 'Boxing Day' name came from the tradition of wealthy families preparing boxes filled with gifts and presents for the poor as a, 'thank you' gesture for working on Christmas.
The tradition of playing cricket on Boxing Day dates back to the late 19th century. A Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) at the MCG over the Christmas period in 1865 is regarded as the origin of Boxing Day matches in Australia.
Boxing Day Tests frequently draw large crowds, making them a significant revenue generator for cricket boards as well as a festive occasion for fans.
During the Boxing Day Tests, the festive season, combined with summer weather in the southern hemisphere, creates a unique and lively atmosphere. The Boxing Day Test has become a cultural institution in cricket-playing nations, with families and friends often attending the matches as part of their holiday traditions.
The MCG has been hosting Boxing Day Tests since 1950. It is one of the most iconic and largest cricket stadiums globally, with a capacity of over 100 000 spectators.
The second Ashes Test between Australia and England in 1950-51 was the first official ,"Boxing Day Test." Australia won the Test by 28 runs and the five-match series by a score of 4-1.
Australia has taken part in 48 Boxing Day Tests. It has 29 wins; 10 losses and 9 draws.
England is the second most successful team in the Boxing Day Tests against Australia, with four wins. India, West Indies and South Africa have two wins each. Australia are playing India while South Africa are playing Pakistan at the SuperSport Park in Centurion in this year’s Boxing Day Tests.
It originated in the United Kingdom and is now celebrated in most Commonwealth nations.
The first recorded Boxing Day cricket match took place at the MCG in 1865 when Victoria and NSW faced each other in a timeless, four-balls/Sheffield Shield game.
Visiting NSW players, however, were not one bit amused at having to miss Christmas time with their families. As a result, the games were moved to the New Year period, often starting around the 1st of January.
The first-ever Boxing Day Test in Australia happened much later, when the 1950-51 Ashes saw the second Test being scheduled from 22nd to 28th December (25th and 26th being rest days). The MCG was chosen to be the venue for this historic Test. The touring English side received a huge setback when vice-captain, Dennis Compton, couldn't recover from his damaged knee in time and had to miss the Test.
Chasing 178 in the final innings, the fall of the experienced Len Hutton and teenaged Brian Close in quick succession had England reeling. Despite contributions from their No.6, William Parkhouse, who came into the side to replace Denis Compton and tail-ender, Alec Bedser, the Aussies managed to successfully defend the total and win the Test by a slender margin of 28 runs.
Australia then went on to host Boxing Day Tests against West Indies and South Africa in 1951-52 and 1952-53, respectively. The former was also the first Test match to be played on Christmas and was played in Adelaide, while the Test against the Proteas the following year was once again hosted in Melbourne.
Post this, only one more Boxing Day Test was played for the next 22 years when Australia took on West Indies at the MCG in 1968. Seeing the success of the six–Test Ashes in 1970-71, Cricket Australia once again chose to make it a six-Test clash for the 1974-75 series. In order to fit them all into the overall schedule, the 3rd Test at the MCG was scheduled to begin on the 26th of December.
The very next year, West Indies played their third Boxing Test as Melbourne witnessed a mammoth attendance of 85 661 for the epic encounter. These were also the first instances of the Boxing Day Test beginning on the 26th of December, just like the modern tradition. However, it took Australian sports mogul Kerry Packer’s ingenuity for this to become an annual occurrence.
Channel Nine, owned by Kerry Packer, acquired the television rights for Australian cricket in 1979. Understanding the importance of popularising the sport, they made Boxing Day Tests a key and mandatory feature of the Australian cricket summer. Since then, Australia have played a Boxing Day Test every year, barring 1989, when they chose to play a Boxing Day ODI against Sri Lanka.
Given that summers in December happen only in the southern hemisphere, this tradition also exists in cricket-playing nations based in this region.
South Africa were, in fact, the first country to host Boxing Day Tests, having played England in December 1913. The concept of Boxing Day Tests as such didn't really exist back in the day and the pre-1980 Tests being referred to here were played during Christmas and Boxing Day, nothing more than that.
The Proteas hosted 13 Boxing Day Tests until 1970, when they were banned from international cricket due to Apartheid. Post their reinstation, South Africa have featured in a Boxing Day Test every year since 1992.
On seven occasions, South Africa travelled to Australia to take part in a Boxing Day Test as visitors. Apart from these years, they have hosted a Test every year. In the 20 such Tests played in South Africa from 1992 to 2017, 14 were played at Kingsmead, Durban and the remaining six were hosted in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha). Since the 2018 Boxing Day Test, Centurion Park has become the designated venue for these Tests.
New Zealand is the only other country to have a Boxing Day tradition. However, in their case, it’s been more a case of playing cricket on Boxing Day. Having hosted their first-ever Boxing Day Test in 1998, they have hosted eight Tests, eight ODIs and three T20i's on Boxing Day.
Outside cricket, the English Premier League also follows a Boxing Day tradition where each of the 20 teams feature on the 26th and 27th of December.
Furthermore, India are the only visiting team to have won two successive Boxing Day Tests in Australia. With the scoreline reading 1-1 in the ongoing series Down Under, they will want to pocket yet another Boxing Day Test to take the lead in this winner-takes-all series.
Watching these Tests can always be exciting. Anything can happen. For instance, in the current Australia-India match, Sam Konstas, a debuting 19 year-old, smashed 60 off 65 balls. He played Jasprit Bumrah as if the latter was a school based bowler and not the no. 1 Test bowler. Corbin Bosch of South Africa, on debut, had figures of 4-63 against Pakistan.
I always look forward to these matches. Yes, there's football but I prefer these instead. Cricket is my primary focus and interest.