Boxing Day Test to be locked in at the MCG until 2031

Melbourne’s Boxing Day Test will be locked in for the next seven years, with Australia and England to play a showpiece match to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Test cricket in March 2027, as part of a complex web of deals between Cricket Australia and five state governments.

Terms struck between CA and the Victorian government, set to be unveiled as early as Thursday after a protracted negotiation that attracted criticism from within Spring Street, were the last piece of a national puzzle that trades off greater schedule certainty for higher taxpayer investment in the promotion of cricket each summer.

Final details were being nutted out between all parties on Wednesday night, according to three sources briefed on the matter but unauthorised to speak publicly until an announcement had been made.

Shane Warne is given a standing ovation after claiming his 700th Test wicket at the MCG on Boxing Day 2006. Credit: Fairfax

As part of the deals, one of the last major assignments for CA chief executive Nick Hockley before he announced his resignation last week, Test matches in Melbourne (Boxing Day), Sydney (New Year) and Adelaide (pre-Christmas) will each be kept in the same time slot until 2031 and designated as major events.

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