What is Boxing Day Test and why is it played?

What is Boxing Day Test: Boxing Day Tests are a long-followed tradition in the sport of cricket with matches starting on December 26.

Cricket fans around the world are waiting for December 26 when two Test matches will start in two different continents.

While Australia will host New Zealand for the second Test of the three-match series, South Africa will host England for the first Test of the four-match series on this Thursday.

With Australia already gaining a 1-0 lead over the visitors, New Zealand would be keen to stage a fightback for they didn’t play to their potential in Perth.

Trent Boult is excited to play the Boxing Day Test at the MCG! pic.twitter.com/W3ADrYSdzA

— ICC (@ICC) December 19, 2019

On the other hand, fans would follow the South Africa vs England match because of the hosts playing under a refurbished team management in addition to veteran English fast bowler James Anderson’s return after more than four months.

What is Boxing Day Test

While there is usually a lot of buzz regarding the Boxing Day Test, let us know the reason why December 26 is called the “Boxing Day”.

The day after Christmas, December 26 is a bank holiday and a day to spend with family and friends. It is also said that people eat up all the leftovers of the Christmas day on the Boxing Day.

It is worth mentioning that there is no confirmed reason behind naming the day as “Boxing Day”. Having said that, what can be confirmed is that it is in no manner related to the sport boxing.

A school of thought states that parishioners used to collect money for the poor people in alms “boxes” and these boxes were opened on the day after Christmas. The same was done on this day in the honour of first Christian missionary St. Stephens, whose feast day also falls on December 26.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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