Vikrant Shekhawat : Dec 24, 2021, 02:48 PM
New Delhi: There is always a common term for matches starting December 26, a day after Christmas and that is called The “Boxing Day Match”. In popular culture Boxing day is celebrated in Commonwealth nations like Australia, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand.As per a specific version, it refers to the left out boxes or poor boxes in churches that used to be opened the day after Christmas. It is also the feast day of St Stephen, the patron saint of horses. For this specific reason, there are a number of sporting events which are also held on this day. In the Commonwealth nations which fall in the Southern Hemisphere, and hence, December, January, and February are summer months.The famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia hosts the iconic Boxing Day Test match every year from December 26 to 30 between the Australian side and any other side who is scheduled to play against them. The first Boxing Day Test match took place between Australia and England in 1950. India has played Boxing Day Test matches in Australia in 1985, 1991, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2014, and 2018 and 2020.India will also play boxing day test match against South Africa in Centurion this year. It is noteworthy that South Africa played against England at Centurion in 2019.More than 80,000 cricket fans usually arrive at the MCG and this is the largest single-day crowd for a Test match between any two nations. The Boxing Day Test is the spectacle of the cricket calendar in Australia and routinely attracts throngs of spectators, with the 91,112 who watched England in 2013 the record.