The day after Christmas is popular in cricket especially in Australia. A professional test cricket match called the Boxing Day match is played either as a one-off match or as a part of bilateral series. It is scheduled for beginning on 26th December. This test match is thus slated to end on or before 30th December.
The first Boxing Day test match was played in 1950. However, it was in 1980, when a Boxing Day test became a ritual in Australian cricket. Specifically, it was the Melbourne Cricket Ground which was chosen as the venue for this particular fixture. It would see Australia faces and international test-playing side, attracting crowds in large numbers.
The Boxing Day cricket matches have always been test matches with exception of the year 1989. It saw a One Day International match being played as a boxing day match. Furthermore, another ritual that has been notably followed is that every four years, a Boxing Day test match would be a part of an Ashes series.
Since 1980, nine Boxing day test matches in Australia have ended in a draw. As of 2025, Australia have won 27 of the 44 Boxing Day test matches played. England’s tally of four wins is the most by any team against Australia in a Boxing Day test. The next best sides are India and West Indies with two wins each.
The man of the match award given after a Boxing Day match is named the Mullagh Medal (after indigenous cricketer Johnny Mullagh). Richard Hadlee, Shane Warne, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Johnson, Matthew Hayden, and Bruce Reid are the only players to win this medal twice.
Boxing Day test matches are also held in South Africa and New Zealand. In South Africa, unlike Australia, the venues are subject to change. They have been held in South Africa since 1913, at irregular intervals. Furthermore, unlike Australia who have dominated this fixture, South Africa have had a 50% win-rate in Boxing Day test matches played in their home grounds. England have faced South Africa the most, winning three, drawing eight, and losing five.
Though uncontested since 2020, New Zealand has also featured the Boxing Day matches since 1992. Unlike Australia and South Africa, New Zealand have featured Boxing Day matches in the limited overs format as well. Out of the eight One Day International Boxing Day matches, New Zealand have won six. In T20 Internationals, they have won two of the three matches played. West Indies is the only side to defeats the Kiwis in both the limited overs fixtures once. In Boxing Day test matches, New Zealand have won six, drawn one, and lost one.
Boxing Day matches continue to be a tradition in international cricket. England and New Zealand are scheduled to play Boxing Day Test matches in Australia in 2025 and 2026 respectively.
