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 variance in attendance; the MCG hosted its largest Boxing Day crowd in 2025, the fourth Test of the 2025–26 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 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 89,155 244,351 Shane Warne 2007 won by 337 runs 68,465 166,663 Matthew Hayden 2008 won by 9 wickets 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 70,068 189,347 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 53,389 127,069OFFICIAL CROWD FIGURE: 53,389 #AUSvWI twitter.com/MCG. Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015Official attendance today: 40,516. #AUSvWI #MCG twitter.com/MCG. Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015Official attendance today: 26,003. #AUSvWI #MCG twitter.com/MCG. Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015Today's attendance for Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test is 7,161 #AUSvWI twitter.com/MCG. Retrieved on 29 Dec 2015 Nathan Lyon 2016 won by an innings and 18 runs 63,478 142,188 Steve Smith 2017 Draw 88,173 261,335 Alastair Cook 2018 won by 137 runs 73,516 176,539 Jasprit Bumrah 2019 won by 247 runs 80,473 203,472 Travis Head 2020 won by 8 wickets 27,615 89,472 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 won by 184 runs 87,242 373,691 Pat Cummins 2025 won by 4 wickets 94,119 186,244 Josh Tongue 2026 2027 2028 2029

Overall Record — Australia vs Visitors

+ Opposition Team GP W D LWin % Recent Test Boxing Day 2025 Boxing Day 2024 Boxing Day 2019 Boxing Day 2023 Boxing Day 2022 Boxing Day 2012 Boxing Day 2015 TotalBoxing Day 2025

See also Boxing Day Test (South Africa) Boxing Day Test (New Zealand)

Notes

References

External links History of MCG Boxing Day Tests Scoreboard: 1968 Boxing Day Test Scoreboard: 1974 Boxing Day Test Scoreboard: 1975 Boxing Day Test Scoreboard: 1980 Boxing Day Test