The Melbourne Boxing Day Test is one of those events that belong to Melbourne like the Melbourne Cup or the AFL Grand Final.
For those who are unaware, Boxing Day is December 26th.
As it is a holiday there are not many sporting events going on around the world on Boxing Day.
In Australia we celebrate a day off in the blazing hot summer with a cricket test match between the Australian Cricket Team and another national team.
The game is played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is a huge stadium for sporting events. Let’s have a look at some history, winners, and other facts about the Melbourne Boxing Day Test.
History of the Melbourne Boxing Day Test
 |
The first Melbourne Boxing Day Test was hosted in 1950. Each year the Melbourne Boxing Day Test occurs, but that was not always the case. Between 1953 and 1967 there were no games. Also according to the history of the Melbourne Cricket Ground there were occasions in which the cricket match was not held in Australia, but other nations. Finally in 1980 it was determined by the Melbourne Cricket Club and Australian Cricket Team that the match would be played annually at the grounds in Melbourne. The contract has been extended recently to host the games for another 10 years in Melbourne.
This Year’s Opponent
During the year, other cricket matches are played at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds. These test matches and one day international events help to determine what team will play against the Australian team on Boxing Day. In 2008 the Boxing Day Test will be played against South Africa, a team who are always a cricket team to be reckoned with. It seems this year they will have plenty of players to take on the challenge in Australia.
Melbourne Boxing Day Test: More Than a Game of Cricket
The Melbourne Boxing Day Test has been touted as more than just a sporting event based on the many cultures that will be in attendance. On the grounds there is plenty of food and drink to be purchased throughout the matches. The actual stadium has a capacity of 100,000 and it is often fairly full for the Boxing Day Test. Especially when arch rival England is played like in 2006 during The Ashes series. That whole series was quite a disaster for the English team, but the humiliation was probably the biggest in Melbourne when the test match was finished in only three days!
 Don’t Think You Will See Her on Dec 26th… |
The Melbourne Boxing Day Test is a tradition for more than fifty years.
It is one of Australia’s great sporting events.
There are plenty of fun things to do before and after the game gets started.
There is even a traditional Boxing Day Feast held for the players.
With the contract extended for a further 10 years, Melbourne can look ahead to the future games.
Wish to know more about my beautiful Melbourne or the great state of Victoria ?
Subscribe to the Melbourne XPress or to my site blog.
Go from Melbourne Boxing Day Test Page to Melbourne Sports Page
Go from Melbourne Boxing Day Test Page to I Love Melbourne Homepage
Sports
Australian Rules Football | AFL Grand Final
Melbourne Cup | Melbourne Spring Carnival | Melbourne Boxing Day Test | Australian Open Tennis | Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix | Formula 1 Australia | Moonah Classic Golf | Rip Curl Pro Surfing | Sandown 400 | Warrnambool May Racing Carnival
Stadiums: Melbourne Cricket Ground | Telstra Dome (now Etihad Stadium) | Rod Laver Arena
Sport Teams: Melbourne Victory (Soccer) | Melbourne Tigers (Basketball)
