Three Tests starting together on Boxing day for the sixth time

Six teams will be featuring in the three Tests that start on this year’s Boxing Day. Bharath Seervi looks at all Boxing Day Tests.

This year’s Boxing Day will trigger off three Tests: New Zealand will take on Sri Lanka at Christchurch, Australia will play India at MCG, and South Africa and West Indies will be playing at St George’s Park.

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Boxing Day Test is now a tradition in Australia. Almost of every year since 1980, MCG has hosted Tests  — to the extent that it is referred to as ‘The Boxing Day Test’ these days. The same day there have been Tests in South Africa and New Zealand as well.

Three Tests starting the same Boxing Day

In the past, there have been five years that had three Tests that started on the same Boxing Day. The first such case was in 1996-97 when Zimbabwe hosted England, South Africa hosted India and Australia hosted West Indies. The other four years are 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01 and 2003-04.

This is the first such occasion since 2003.

Boxing Day Tests in Australia

Boxing Day Tests at MCG is almost a part of the Australian summer. The first time a Tests had started on the Boxing Day in Australia was against West Indies in 1968-69; Australia had won that test by eight wickets. There were a couple of tests in the 1970s – in 1974-75 and 1975-76. It became a tradition in 1980-81 and it is played since then every year.

The table below has the details of all the test matches that began on the Boxing Day in Australia.

The last time when Australia did not host a Boxing Day Test was in 1994-95. The Test had started on December 24; Boxing Day was the second day as there was a rest day on Christmas.

Since 1997, there has been no Boxing Day Test without a result. In this period Australia won 10 and they were defeated thrice – by England in 1998-99, South Africa in 2008-09 and by England in 2010-11.

Australia in Boxing Day Tests: Played 33, Won 20, Lost 6, Drawn 7

Test matches that began on Boxing Day in South Africa

Boxing Day Tests have been played in other countries as well, especially South Africa. Let us have a list:

South Africa has the trend of hosting Boxing Day Tests as well. It has become usual since their readmission to International cricket in 1992. The only years in which there was no Boxing Day Tests were the ones when they were themselves playing the MCG Boxing Day Tests..

The first time a test match began on December 26 in South Africa was in the year 1913-14 at Old Wanderers against England. It was also the first ever Boxing Day Test. The next was in 1961-62 against New Zealand, which was their last since their readmission.

Since then in there have not been a Boxing Day Test in five out of 22 years (1993-94, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2005-06 and 2008-09). South Africa were in Australia playing the Boxing Day Tests those seasons.

Though being one of the strongest test teams in the recent few years, South Africa had lost four consecutive Boxing Day test at home (in 2007-08, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2012-13) – two of those to Asian teams.

South Africa in the test matches that began on December 26: Played 18, Won 8, Lost 5, Drawn 5

Test matches that began on Boxing Day in other countries

Other than in Australia and South Africa, there have been a few test matches that began on the Boxing Day in the other countries as well. There have been eight more such tests – five in New Zealand, one each in India, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

Out of 59 Boxing Day Tests only 15 (about 25%) have resulted in a draw. Therefore, can we see the more of best of Test cricket in the last week of 2014 as there are three Tests beginning on Boxing Day?