All you need to know about Boxing day matches - History and memories

Boxing Day History

Boxing Day Test match is played in Melbourne, Australia between Australia and the team touring Down Under that summer. It begins on Boxing Day (26th December) and is played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). These matches have been played since 1950.

These matches are at their best when England tours Australia during the summer. Boxing Day Test matches between these two teams have had great memories and they are counted in the lists of some best Boxing Day Tests.

The first ever Boxing Day match at the MCG was played between these two teams which attracted 60,486 fans who witnessed a thriller. Australia won by just 28 runs. So that was just a trailer, the coming years had more surprises for the cricket crazy country.

The tradition still continues because the crowd there love sports. They turn up in large numbers on the Boxing Day so that they can spend some time with family and friends and relax after a hectic Christmas Day.

The Australians don’t get to experience the Ashes entertainment every year because the series is every four years. And it’s not mandatory that every summer there is a bational team scheduled to tour Australia. So the Boxing Day is dominated very often by the rivalry between the two states, Victoria and New South-Wales during the Sheffield Shield matches.

In New Zealand too, annually Boxing Day Test matches were played between the Black Caps and the team touring them that summer. But later on, one-day international matches replaced Test matches for the Boxing Day contest and it is played at Basin Reserve, Wellington.

The upcoming Boxing Day Test match at Melbourne is going to be another cracker in terms of intensity. Even though Australia has won the Ashes 2013-14, they would be aiming for a 5-0, and on the other hand the English side would be trying to avoid their whitewash in this series.

The South Africans play the Boxing Day match traditionally at the Sahara Stadium, Kingsmead, Durban — if a National team is touring SA that summer or else they do not have it. Last year New Zealand was in South Africa and they played a T20 match which the Black Caps won by eight wickets.

The Boxing Day is approaching and this year, it is India who is going to play against South Africa at Kingsmead. The Test match is the series decider so the World No. 1 and No. 2 teams will play their heart out to win the game.

There are few incidents which have marked their place in the history of Boxing Day matches. Who can forget Shane Warne’s 700th wicket in the second Test match of 2006-07 Ashes? His victim was England’s Andrew Strauss. Warne retired from International cricket after that series.

Umpire Darrell Hair no-balled the Legendary Muttiah Muralitharan seven times in the second Test match of 1995 series at Melbourne. According to Hair, the bowler bent his arm and straightens it in the process of delivery which is considered as an illegal action in cricket.

Looking into few memorable Boxing Day Test matches, we see that the Aussies have been on the winner’s side very often.

1995-96 Sri Lanka vs Australia

This match was an example of Australia’s dominance in the Boxing Day Test matches. The Aussies scored 500 in the first innings, which included Steve Waugh and David Boon’s centuries. The opponents failed to make even the half of the score so they were sent back to bat in the second innings.

The Sri Lankans bundled for 307, thereby setting the Australians with a small target of 41 runs. The Kangaroos won the match by 10 wickets.

1998-99 Australia vs England

It was the fourth Test match of 1988/99 Ashes. Low scoring in a Test match makes it nail-biting which was shown in this match. England managed only 270 runs in the first innings, whereas the hosts reached the 340 mark before getting all out.

The Australians were given a target of 174 in their final innings but they couldn’t manage even that. They lost their wickets in quick successions—seven wickets in about 30 runs. The match came as close as England won just by 12 runs. Dean Headley was the player of the match for taking six wickets in the fourth innings.

2002-03 Australia vs England

The Aussies had retained the Ashes that year with 4-1 win over England. They had been frustrating their arch rivals since 1989 by winning the series every time. The Boxing Day Test match in 2002 had given the Australians a lead of 4-0.

Justin Langer was the Man of the Match for his double century in the first innings which helped the Aussies to reach 551 along with Mathew Hayden’s 105.

2008-09 South Africa vs Australia

The contest between Australia and South Africa holds the second position behind the Ashes. The Boxing Day Test match was the second Test in the 2008-09 series where Africans’ bowling department led by former World No 1 Dale Steyn shook the Aussie batting order.

The Australians managed only 394 and 247 in their respective innings. South Africa had to make 183 to win and they did it with nine wickets remaining.

The ongoing Ashes have already seen a lot of drama. Jonathan Trott flew back to England; Graeme Swann announced his retirement in between the series.

The English side seems to be struggling in all the departments including the mental strength. The Aussies have completely broken their confidence and this Boxing Day match will be a real test for the visitors. Let’s see what’s next in this year’s Ashes.