Living in the ’80s: How the Boxing Day Test remained in Melbourne

By Deputy Chief EditorDecember 25, 2018

136 3 minutes read

Simon O'Donnell was one of the stars in a one-day international at the MCG on Boxing Day 1989.Credit:AAP

The growing popularity of the Boxing Day Test through the 1980s prompted the then Victorian Cricket Association to trademark the event in order to safeguard it from being poached by a rival state.

However, despite strong supporter interest, it still did not prevent the event from being overlooked in 1989-90 – the only summer since 1980 there was no Boxing Day Test.

It seems unfathomable now to think there would be no Boxing Day Test but a convoluted schedule in the home summer after the breakthrough '89 Ashes victory left the Australian Cricket Board, now Cricket Australia, and the VCA with few options.

Today's players may complain about a crowded schedule but in '89-90 Australia had a one-off Test against New Zealand in Perth, coming amid a spat between the two boards, and then hosted two Tests against Sri Lanka in that country's first series of least two Tests here. The second Test was held in Hobart from December 16.

Pakistan were slated to play three Tests in Australia but as India's tour there had not finished until December 22, it meant they could not play in the Boxing Day Test. This meant the ACB and VCA staged the opening match of a split tri-series (also involving Pakistan), with Australia winning by 30 runs thanks to home-town heroes Dean Jones (85 not out) and Simon O'Donnell (four wickets and 57 not out).

The MCG Test was held from January 12, with the series then shifting to Adelaide and Sydney, before the tri-series resumed.

Former ACB chief executive David Richards said his recollection was that India's tour of Pakistan had meant the Boxing Day event had to be overlooked.

"It always a bit of a challenge to arrange things to suit everyone – a bit of give and take was required from time to time. That was a quirky old summer," he said.

Former long-serving VCA administrator Ken Jacobs said it had been disappointing to lose the Boxing Day Test for one year.

"I think we were concerned about it at the time because it was around that era that we started to push the promotion of the Boxing Day Test," he said.

"We spoke to the government at that time and we got a little bit of support of the Melbourne City Council to promote the Boxing Day Test.

"Eventually it grew and we actually registered the name, all the intellectual property around the Boxing Day Test. We registered The Boxing Day Test, The Melbourne Boxing Day Test and all the variations of The Boxing Day Test, Boxing Day Test, etc. It was starting to grow."

Jacobs said trademarking the event had been to ensure the Test remained in Melbourne, noting that rival states – including a declaration by Perth Stadium boss Mike McKenna this month – still wanted to poach the event. A new deal between CA and the Melbourne Cricket Club is imminent.

"It was to ensure we could secure it for Melbourne so it stayed in Melbourne. It was a bit of political byplay, I suppose … it stayed in Melbourne but some of the other states, and they still do now, were saying: 'Why do Melbourne and Sydney get all the major days?'" Jacobs said.

"Just recently, Mike McKenna was saying they (Perth) might get the Boxing Day Test. In the end, we had to transfer the ownership of the IP to Cricket Australia – that was well down the track, in about 2005-06. Cricket Australia assumed greater control over all the matches and promotion and marketing of the matches – they asked us for the intellectual property rights, so we had to hand them over, much to my chagrin at the time. We got reimbursed for our costs basically."

Jacobs suggested CA would fight anyone from the public who registered a variation of Boxing Day Test, for instance Perth Boxing Day Test.

"They could [try] but Cricket Australia would probably challenge it because they currently own the words Boxing Day Test. They would probably say you can't use those words in conjunction with anything else," Jacobs said.

Jon Pierik is a sports writer with The Age, focusing primarily on AFL football, cricket and basketball. He has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.