Few major sporting events trump the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but England and Australian cricket fans will tell you that an Ashes Boxing Day Test takes the spectacle to another level.
As the MCG prepares for a memorable Ashes Test match, we take a look back at an ‘over’ (a top six) of memorable MCG Boxing Day Test moments from years gone by.
6. Justin Langer makes his highest Test score
Australia headed to the 2002 Boxing Day Test under Steve Waugh’s leadership with an unassailable lead 3-0 lead, following huge wins in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth to regain the Ashes.As Waugh directed his side to pile on the pain, now-Australian Men’s Head Coach, Justin Langer needed no further encouragement.
After an opening stand of 195 with Matthew Hayden (102), from there, Langer took charge – sweeping, pulling and driving through the covers. Off Richard Dawson and in the 90s, Langer chipped a ball back over the bowlers head for four, before launching his next delivery into the Great Southern Stand crowd for six to bring up his ton.
By the end of Day 1, Langer was unbeaten on 146, ably supported by Steve Waugh as Australia reached 3/356.
He would pass the 150 mark early on the second morning, and take the attack to England again with Waugh and debutant Martin Love (62 not out). A back-cut off Dawson took Langer to his maiden double century and thunderous applause from a sold-out MCG that was missing the recently demolished 1968 Ponsford Stand.
An hour later, having brought up the milestone of 250, Langer finally perished, drawing to a close his highest Test score in an innings that lasted for 578 minutes and 407 balls, one that included 30 boundaries and a six.
Australia would later navigate a tricky fourth-innings chase to win the Test by five wickets.
5. Cook takes his place on the walls of the Members’ Reserve
Yet again England arrived on the wrong side of a 3-0 series score line and the 2017/18 Ashes already regained by the Australians.But from the middle session of Day 2 of the 2017 Boxing Day Test, former England captain Alastair Cook gave the visitors and travelling Barmy Army supporters something to smile about, taking the Australian attack apart to all corners of the MCG.
Methodically, Cook took 92 balls to make his first 50 runs, before reaching his century milestone at the close of play on Day 2. More pain was to come for the Australian bowlers on Day 3, who had been used to a much different cadence of English wickets to fall throughout the series.
And while English wickets still did fall on Day 3 at one end, at the other, Cook was resolute, rarely playing a false shot as he reached 150 in the afternoon session. From there, the scoring accelerated, Cook’s punch down the ground bringing up his double century. It was his fifth double-hundred in Test cricket and his second against Australia, as some murmurs went around the Members’ Reserve if West Indian Viv Richards’ 208 from 1984 may finally be usurped as the highest Test scores achieved by an overseas player at the MCG.
As it turned out, Cook did just that, his knock saw him carry his bat and finish unbeaten on 244 not out from a stay at the crease that lasted over 10 and a half hours and featured 27 boundaries from 409 deliveries.
There was a hasty change to the Test record holders mural in the Percy Beames Bar of the Members’ Reserve to acknowledge Cook’s feat. The English opener joined Australians Arthur Mailey’s 9-121 and Bob Cowper’s 307, and Pakistan’s Sarfraz Nawaz’s 9-86, as the premier performances by Australian and overseas players at the MCG.
4. Border and Thomson nearly get Australia home
It’s as bitter a pill to swallow for any Australian cricket fan, and sends the same shivers down the spine when the comparisons are made to Edgbaston 2005 and Headingley 2019 are made.During the Third Test of the 1982/83 Ashes; when number 11 batter, Jeff Thomson joined captain Allan Border with Australia at 9/218 and requiring a further 74 runs to win and claim the Ashes, few Australian fans had any hope.
As the shadows lengthened on Day 4, and with Border struggling for runs and Thomson known as a batting ‘bunny’, there was sense of bemusement when ‘stumps’ was called at the end of the fourth day and the tenth-wicket pair had wiped off half their required remaining runs.
18,000 non-paying fans packed into the MCG; some with hope that Australia could crawl their way to the remaining 37 runs, others arrived to watch the formality that was supposed to be an England win.
Day 5 began and the first hour saw the England side’s nerves intensify, the Australian side’s belief lift. Out of exasperation, England captain Bob Willis through the second new ball to star English all-rounder, Ian Botham.
Four runs to win, Thomson on strike to face a full over with a new ball.
In the England slips cordon, first slip Geoff Miller and second slip Chris Travare – in a bid to combat the ball not reaching them on the full from an ‘edge’, but unbeknownst to the rest of the team – moved two steps closer towards Thomson.
Botham bowled the ball wider than he’d hoped. Thomson, rather than bludgeon it for the winning runs as he’d done for the rest of the innings, ‘poked’ at the ball. It flew too quickly to Travare at second slip, the ball exploding through his hands, with England’s hopes looking all but dashed as the ball made its way to the grass.
But the quick-thinking Miller reacted to move swiftly behind Travare to take the rebounding catch, and cue the celebrations.
Game over. England win by three runs. The series score line goes to 2-1. The Ashes are alive again.
3. England claim the Ashes on Australian soil for first time in 24 years
A full two decades of Ashes dominance from Australia across the late 1980s, all of the 1990s and most of the 2000s, had seen some of the rivalry lose it sting.Even since 2005, while England had claimed back the urn for the first time in 18 years, the resulting series’ had been won comfortably by the home side.
Heading to Boxing Day, the Ashes Series remained live, something that had not always been a feature of MCG Test matches since the fixturing move to make Melbourne host the Fourth Test had been made in the 1994/95 season.
England dreams were realised quickly on Day 1, when they routed Australia for a total of 98 before tea on the first day. They then piled on the pain, led by Jonathan Trott’s 167 not out on the way to a total of 513.
Australia’s second innings only fared marginally better than its first. Only Shane Watson and Brad Haddin passed 50, as Australia were rolled again for 258 mid-way through the fourth day to hand England an unassailable 2-1 series lead in their quest to retain the Ashes urn.
The scenes of jubilation were palpable for English fans and players, who pulled out the ‘sprinkler’ dance in front of the Barmy Army, who were wall-to-wall in unison in the Great Southern Stand.
2. Warney's hat-trick
England were already on the ropes when Shane Warne took the ball to start his 12th over in England’s second innings of the 1994 Boxing Day Test.After an even first innings for Australia, Warne had already spun a web around the visiting batters, claiming 6/64 in England’s first innings, leaving Australia 67 runs ahead.
Led by David Boon’s 131, the target of 388 was looking perilous at the start of the fourth innings. At 6/88, it was a calamity for England – if only they knew what was coming next.
As expectations toward an Australian victory reverberated around the sparsely crowded MCG, Warne’s third ball of his 12th over trapped Phil DeFreitas leg before wicket.
The next ball, he had Darren Gough caught behind and the feeling around the MCG crowd sensed history was to be made: could Warne join Australians Hugh Trumble, Jimmy Matthews, Lindsay Kline, Merv Hughes and Damien Fleming in claiming a Test hat-trick?
With his home crowd behind him, Warne delivered a top-spinner that caught Devon Malcolm’s glove and lobbed to the right of Boon who flung himself and snaffled a catch at short-leg, one-handed to complete the feat. The roar of the excited crowd, that had just witnessed the first Test hat trick at the MCG in over 90 years, sounded like that of a full house.
1. Warney's 700th wicket
It couldn’t be an Ashes or MCG-related countdown without Shane Warne featuring at least twice.For an Ashes series that had already been sealed and seen the urn regained by Australia after commanding wins in Brisbane and Perth, plus the ‘Amazing Adelaide’ comeback, the scripts had been written to perfection.
After the Perth Test, Warne – alongside champion fast bowler Glenn McGrath and opening batter, Justin Langer – had announced his retirement from international cricket. He was also stuck on 699 Test wickets leading in his final MCG Test match.
Over 91,000 Victorians packed the MCG on Boxing Day 2006 and were even more joyous when England captain, Andrew Flintoff called correctly at the toss and elected to bat, meaning an opportunity for Warne to be the first man to break through the 700 Test-wicket barrier was viable.
Early inroads into the England top-order from fast bowlers Glenn McGrath, Stuart Clark and Brett Lee underneath unseasonably cold and cloudy conditions, meant Australian captain Ricky Ponting held back his champion leg-spinner through the entire morning session. The MCG crowd was restless at the lunch interval.
After 40 overs, Ponting could no longer ignore the elephant in the room. But the thunderous applause that Warne received when he removed his broad-brim hat to signify his first over, was nothing matched to what transpired in his fourth.
In the second ball of the 47th over, Warne approached the crease let fly with a trademark leg-break. It dipped, spun, befuddled England opener Andrew Strauss and crashed into his stumps. Cue the celebrations.
As the decibels within the MCG cauldron reached new levels, Warne took off in a loop of mid-off and mid-on before being mobbed by teammates. Many said they’d never seen Warne move faster in his 15-year Test career!
The first man to reach 700 Test wickets was then given the Kookaburra ball to wave and doff to the crowd, like he would a cap. Amid the celebrations, England x-factor batsman and former Hampshire teammate to Warne, Kevin Pietersen, hugged his friend in a tribute to the historical significance of what had been achieved.
It would continue to be a magical day for Warne, who would go onto claim a five-wicket haul in the first innings – his 37th in Test cricket.
Australia would continue their relentless form for both the rest of the Test, and the series.
The Aussies won the Melbourne Test by an innings and 99 runs, before inflicting a 5-0 series whitewash – the first time since 1920/21 – on the English with a dominant win in Sydney.
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