# Boxing Day Test

The Boxing Day Test match is a cricket Test match held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, involving the Australia national 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).

## History

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. 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.
The Boxing Day Test has cultural significance and often draws large crowds, 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.

### 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.

## List of Boxing Day Test matches

| Year | Opposition team | Result | Boxing Day Crowd | Total Attendance | Player of the Match: Mullagh Medal |
| 1968 | West Indies | Australia won by an innings and 30 runs | 18,766 | 113,376 | |
| 1974 | England | Draw | 77,167 | 250,750 | |
| 1975 | West Indies | Australia won by 8 wickets | 85,661 | 222,755 | Jeff Thomson |
| 1980 | New Zealand | Draw | 28,671 | 82,745 | Richard Hadlee |
| 1981 | West Indies | Australia won by 58 runs | 39,982 | 134,081 | Kim Hughes |
| 1982 | England | England won by 3 runs | 63,900 | 214,882 | Norman Cowans |
| 1983 | Pakistan | Draw | 40,277 | 111,611 | Graham Yallop |
| 1985 | India | Draw | 18,146 | 77,715 | Allan Border |
| 1986 | England | England won by an innings and 14 runs | 58,203 | 107,817 | Gladstone Small |
| 1987 | New Zealand | Draw | 51,807 | 127,184 | Richard Hadlee |
| 1990 | England | Australia won by 9 wickets | 49,763 | 129,530 | Bruce Reid |
| 1991 | India | Australia won by 8 wickets | 42,494 | 89,369 | Bruce Reid |
| 1992 | West Indies | Australia won by 139 runs | 28,397 | 83,320 | Shane Warne |
| 1993 | South Africa | Draw | 15,604 | 48,565 | Mark Taylor |
| 1995 | Sri Lanka | Australia won by 10 wickets | 55,239 | 105,388 | Glenn McGrath |
| 1996 | West Indies | West Indies won by 6 wickets | 72,891 | 131,671 | Curtly Ambrose |
| 1997 | South Africa | Draw | 73,812 | 160,182 | Jacques Kallis |
| 1998 | England | England won by 12 runs | 61,580 | 159,031 | Dean Headley |
| 1999 | India | Australia won by 180 runs | 49,082 | 134,554 | Sachin Tendulkar |
| 2000 | West Indies | Australia won by 352 runs | 73,233 | 133,299 | Steve Waugh |
| 2001 | South Africa | Australia won by 9 wickets | 61,796 | 153,025 | Matthew Hayden |
| 2002 | England | Australia won by 5 wickets | 64,189 | 177,658 | Justin Langer |
| 2003 | India | Australia won by 9 wickets | 62,613 | 179,662 | Ricky Ponting |
| 2004 | Pakistan | Australia won by 9 wickets | 61,552 | 129,079 | Damien Martyn |
| 2005 | South Africa | Australia won by 184 runs | 71,910 | 192,338 | Michael Hussey |
| 2006 | England | Australia won by an innings and 99 runs | 89,155 | 244,351 | Shane Warne |
| 2007 | India | Australia won by 337 runs | 68,465 | 166,663 | Matthew Hayden |
| 2008 | South Africa | South Africa won by 9 wickets | 63,263 | 174,246 | Dale Steyn |
| 2009 | Pakistan | Australia won by 170 runs | 59,206 | 156,267 | Shane Watson |
| 2010 | England | England won by an innings and 157 runs | 84,345 | 240,156 | Jonathan Trott |
| 2011 | India | Australia won by 122 runs | 70,068 | 189,347 | James Pattinson |
| 2012 | Sri Lanka | Australia won by an innings and 201 runs | 67,138 | 137,455 | Mitchell Johnson |
| 2013 | England | Australia won by 8 wickets | 91,112 | 271,865 | Mitchell Johnson |
| 2014 | India | Draw | 69,993 | 194,481 | Ryan Harris |
| 2015 | West Indies | Australia won by 177 runs | 53,389 | 127,069 | Nathan Lyon |
| 2016 | Pakistan | Australia won by an innings and 18 runs | 63,478 | 142,188 | Steve Smith |
| 2017 | England | Draw | 88,173 | 261,335 | Alastair Cook |
| 2018 | India | India won by 137 runs | 73,516 | 176,539 | Jasprit Bumrah |
| 2019 | New Zealand | Australia won by 247 runs | 80,473 | 203,472 | Travis Head |
| 2020 | India | India won by 8 wickets | 27,615 | 89,472 | Ajinkya Rahane |
| 2021 | England | Australia won by an innings and 14 runs | 57,100 | 140,671 | Scott Boland |
| 2022 | South Africa | Australia won by an innings and 182 runs | 64,876 | 155,714 | David Warner |
| 2023 | Pakistan | Australia won by 79 runs | 62,167 | 164,835 | Pat Cummins |
| 2024 | India | Australia won by 184 runs | 87,242 | 373,691 | Pat Cummins |
| 2025 | England | | | | |
| 2026 | 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.

## Overall Record — Australia vs Visitors

| Opposition Team | GP | W | D | L | Win % | Recent Test |
| England | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 036.36 | Boxing Day 2021 |
| India | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 020.00 | Boxing Day 2024 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 000.00 | Boxing Day 2019 |
| Pakistan | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 000.00 | Boxing Day 2023 |
| South Africa | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 016.67 | Boxing Day 2022 |
| Sri Lanka | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 000.00 | Boxing Day 2012 |
| West Indies | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 014.29 | Boxing Day 2015 |
| Total | 44 | 8 | 9 | 27 | 018.18 | Boxing Day 2024 |