batting for australia

If there’s one sporting event that unites the country, it’s the Boxing Day Test

WORDS CRAIG TANSLEY
PHOTOGRAPHY GARRY SPARKE

There’s no bigger cricketing spectacle on earth – five days of Test match cricket starting on Boxing Day and running till nearly New Year’s Eve. Held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from 10.30am to 6pm it’s seven-and-a-half hours of cricket action every day; what other sport offers so much? Certainly not the World Cup or Twenty20 final, they’re all over in a day and lack the tradition of a Test match.

No, this is the one that counts. This is where the game’s biggest legend, local folk hero Shane Warne became the first man to capture 700 Test wickets in front of an adoring home crowd of 89,155, taking five wickets to destroy the English in the 2006 Boxing Day Test match.

Andrew Symonds swings for a centuryAnd who could forget Dougie Walters hitting his last Test century here in 1980 or Bruce Reid taking an incredible 13 wickets against the English a decade later? Even last year’s hero, Shane Warne, remembers watching Australia fall four runs short of victory in arguably the most memorable Test match of all time in 1982, when he was barely a teenager. It is, without a doubt, the most exciting day on the cricket calendar.

Shane Warne prepares to
unleash some damage

Since its inception in 1950, when over 60,000 crazed cricket fans watched Australia win a nail-biter against England, the Boxing Day Test has been cricket’s answer to the Melbourne Cup – a match that stops a nation. Generations of kids have grown up with the memories: Lillee and Thommo destroying Clive Lloyd’s mighty Windies in 1975 in front of 85,000 against all the odds; an 18-year-old Craig McDermott taking six wickets on debut in 1984; and the infamous no-balling of Sri Lankan spin bowler Muttiah Muralidaran for “chucking” in 1995. And let’s not forget Ricky Ponting’s majestic 257 against India in 2003 and the gutsiest 10th wicket stand of all time when Mike Hussey and Glenn McGrath toughed out 107 runs, helping the Aussies to victory over South Africa in 2005.

Watch Sachin Tendulkar make
batting history this Test match
Photo: Reuters

Last year’s Test series was perhaps the most anticipated of all time. An Ashes re-match and the chance for Australia to atone for its unlikely series loss on English soil the previous year. By the time the Ashes came to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test, Australia had forged an unthinkable 3-0 lead. But more was to come: the Boxing Day Test saw an Australian team destroy England by an innings and 99 runs. Local star Shane Warne, playing his last-ever match on home soil, took his 700th Test wicket just after lunch on Boxing Day, triggering sporting scenes no one at the MCG will ever forget. When Queenslanders Matt Hayden and Andy Symonds came out swinging, both scoring centuries, the match was over, but not before 244,351 cricket fans had walked through the turnstiles, setting a new world record for a Test completed in less than the full five days.

Brett Lee: “My most memorable game was that first Test Match on Boxing Day in Melbourne; it was my debut, and to do it at the MCG was amazing.” (He went on to take five wickets that day and start a phenomenal fast bowling career.)

But this year’s Boxing Day Test promises even more fireworks. Why? Because of the team Australia is facing. There is no love lost between Australia and India. Indeed, the recent one-day series in India was one of the most spiteful series ever seen in international cricket. Players almost came to blows, with bowler Shantha Sreesanth the biggest antagonist, at times risking personal injury by goading Australians Andrew Symonds and Matt Hayden. What’s more, India’s supporters are perhaps even more vocal and patriotic than England’s Barmy Army, making for a colourful, noisy clash. And for a change this year, the Boxing Day Test is the first of the series, so it will be the first time to see the Indians all summer.

One thing’s for certain, come Boxing Day 2007, as India’s greatest ever batsman Sachin Tendulkar plays his last ever game at the MCG, and 22 hot-headed Indians and Australians attempt to play each other into the ground in front of a crowd of 90,000 screaming for victory, there could be nowhere else on earth more exciting to be.

AUSTRALIAN LEGENDS REFLECT ON THE BOXING DAY TEST:

Shane Warne: “There’s some special days in your life… the birth of your children, getting married, playing your first Test … but today, here at the MCG, that’s got to be one of the best days I’ve ever had.”

Justin Langer: “It’s been my favourite day of the year since I was a young kid. Back then, the morning after the second best day of the year, meant a day in front of the TV marvelling at the joy and spectacle. I loved it.

Crowd etiquette:

Anything legal goes. You can make as much noise as you like cheering your team home, provided you keep within the spirit of the game. Signs are welcome, as long as they’re not offensive. Crowd behaviour is generally very good at the MCG, as only light beer is available. Should you decide it would be fun to streak naked across the pitch, the fine is AU$5,000.

What to bring:

Sunscreen and a hat – lots of seats are in the sun.
Lunch and soft drinks – to keep costs down.
A book – there’s a break for lunch and tea.
Don’t try to bring alcohol into the ground.

Getting to the MCG:

Public transport will deliver you right up to the ground’s gate. Catch a train from the CBD on the Hurstbridge or Epping Line to MCG Station (otherwise known as Jolimont).
Catch a number 75 or 48 tram from Flinders Street station to the MCG.
Walk from the city, it takes just 15 minutes.

We recommend not driving, there’s only limited parking.

Buying tickets:
Call Ticketmaster on 136 100. Tickets for the Great Southern Stand, Olympic Stand and Ponsford Stand start at AU$45, however children are only AU$5.

Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test is Family Day, so every child with a full paying adult gets in for free. Merv’s Walk To The G features Australian Test great Merv Hughes and is a morning of fun beginning at Federation Square and ending with a free breakfast at the MCG; all ticket holders are welcome.