MCG keeps iconic Test
Boxing Day future assured
TALK of the MCG losing the Boxing Day Test can disappear for at least the next three years.
After Cricket Australia on Wednesday confirmed the summer schedule against India would include the traditional Test in Melbourne, with a capped crowd of 25,000 set to attend, a new deal between the Melbourne Cricket Club and the Victorian government was locked in.
The summer’s iconic Test will remain at Australia’s premier sporting venue for the next three summers, with India, England and then finally South Africa to feature.
It’s understood the arrangement is in line with the current Future Tours Program, which finishes in 2023, with the potential for another deal to be done in the meantime to safeguard the game being played at the MCG beyond that time.
Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula said the MCG event was a “cornerstone” of the sporting calendar.
“Melbourne is Australia’s unchallenged sporting and events capital, and the Boxing Day Test is one of the cornerstones of our renowned annual calendar,” he said.
“This has been a tough year and it will be just reward for many to have the opportunity to watch the Aussies take on India at our cathedral of sport. And to have the fixture locked in until 2022 is fantastic.”
A one-year rollover between CA and the MCC expired last summer, and the three parties have been working towards finding common ground for some time.
On Monday, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews confirmed there would be a crowd at this year’s Boxing Day Test, with a capped crowd of 25,000 confirmed on Wednesday.
“I’m very confident we’ll get a crowd at the MCG for the Boxing Day Test,” Andrews said. “I don’t know how big it will be, but there will be a crowd there.
“That’s the advice I have and that’s what we are working towards.”
Issues with the MCG pitch, before last summer, created calls for the game to be moved.
Western Australian officials have long chased the game, with Optus Stadium boss Mike Mckenna throwing his hat in the ring on countless occasions.