Boxing Day Test at the MCG: Tickets, Traditions & Tips

Australia v New Zealand, 26–30 December 2026: how to do the MCG's biggest day of the summer properly.

At half past ten on the morning of 26 December, while most of the country is still working through the Christmas leftovers, the first ball of the Boxing Day Test is bowled at the MCG. By then the trains from the suburbs have been full for an hour, Yarra Park is a sea of hats and eskies left in cars, and the queues at the gates have already been and gone. The Boxing Day Test is as much a Melbourne holiday ritual as a cricket match, and you don’t need to love Test cricket to enjoy a day of it.

This guide covers the 2026 Test against New Zealand: the dates and start times, which day to go, how tickets work, what you can and can’t bring, how to get to the ground, what the weather is likely to do, and the traditions that make the day what it is. Dates and match-day details were checked in October 2026 against the MCG’s, the Melbourne Cricket Club’s and Cricket Australia’s own pages; check them again in December, because gate times and arrangements are confirmed closer to the match. For the rest of the city’s sporting calendar, see our guide to sport in Melbourne.

The 2026 Boxing Day Test at a Glance

Why the Boxing Day Test Matters

Plenty of cricket nations play on Boxing Day. None of them does it like Melbourne. The Test is the fixture on the Australian cricket calendar that almost always starts in the same place on the same day, and for many families going to Day 1 is as fixed a part of Christmas as the lunch the day before.

A short history

Test cricket at the MCG over the Christmas period goes back a long way, but the modern tradition is younger than many people assume. The 1974–75 Ashes Test in Melbourne started on Boxing Day, and the Australian Cricket Board made a Boxing Day start a fixed part of the summer from 1980. Since then it has been played almost every year; the main exception was 1989, when a one-day international took the date instead.

The crowds

The crowd is the point. Day 1 of the 2025 Boxing Day Test, against England, drew 94,199 people, which the MCG says is the highest attendance for any cricket match at the ground and the highest for a single day of Test cricket. It beat 93,013 at the 2015 World Cup final and 91,112 on Day 1 of the 2013 Boxing Day Test. Day 2 of that 2025 Test drew 92,045. A New Zealand Test won’t necessarily draw an Ashes crowd, but Day 1 is still the one most people want.

The 2025 Test in two days

The 2025 Test was a reminder that a five-day ticket doesn’t always mean five days of cricket. The 2025 Boxing Day Test against England was all over in two days, with England winning by four wickets to end an 18-match winless run in Australia. That’s unusual, but it’s worth bearing in mind if you’re thinking of buying tickets for Days 4 or 5: read the ticket conditions about what happens if play finishes early before you buy.

New Zealand back in Melbourne

New Zealand last played the Boxing Day Test in 2019, and the 2026–27 series is New Zealand’s first in Australia since the 2019–20 summer. The four Tests run from 9 December in Perth to 8 January in Sydney, with Melbourne third. If the series is alive by Boxing Day, expect a sharper edge to the crowd than in a dead rubber.

The Shane Warne Stand and Bay 13

After Shane Warne’s death in March 2022, the MCG’s Great Southern Stand was renamed the Shane Warne Stand. Warne was a Victorian, he took his 700th Test wicket at the MCG on Boxing Day 2006, and on Boxing Day the stand carries a lot of emotion. The same side of the ground was home to Bay 13, a section of the same stand that was famous for its rowdy, sun-baked crowds and its chants. Bay 13 as people remember it is gone; the area was turned into a more expensive “Boundary Social” section with a dress code and its own bar in 2019. The noise has spread out around the ground instead.

Which Day to Go

Each day of a Test has its own feel, and the right day depends on what you want from it.

• Day 1 (Saturday 26 December). The occasion. The biggest crowd, the anthems, the most atmosphere and the hardest tickets to get. The cricket is often tight and cautious in the first session as the batters size up the pitch. Go if you want to be part of the tradition.
• Day 2 (Sunday 27 December). Often the best value. The crowd is still big, the match has taken shape, and there’s usually plenty happening. For a first-timer who wants good cricket and a good atmosphere without the Day 1 crush, this is our pick.
• Day 3 (Monday 28 December). Frequently the day when the match turns. Crowds are smaller, it’s easier to move around and pick a spot, and with the Christmas holidays in full swing, plenty of locals are still off work.
• Days 4 and 5 (29–30 December). Can be gripping if the match is close, or over by lunch if it isn’t, and occasionally don’t happen at all. Buy late, once you can see how the match is going, if tickets are still available.

A practical tip: you don’t have to stay all day. Many Melburnians come for a session or two, leave at tea for an early dinner in Richmond, and watch the last session on a pub screen.

Boxing Day Test Tickets

Tickets for the general public are sold through Cricket Australia’s ticketing page at cricket.com.au, which links to Ticketek. The MCG’s event page for Day 1 says tickets are on sale via Ticketek. Check there for the categories still available, the prices for each day and any family or junior tickets, because prices differ by day and by seating area. Buy from the official links rather than a reseller: tickets are scanned on your phone at the gate, and one bought second-hand from an unofficial site may not work.

If you have a choice, buy Day 1 early. Later days are generally easier, and Days 4 and 5 depend on the state of the match.

The Members’ Reserve

The Members’ Reserve, home of the Long Room and the Melbourne Cricket Club’s members, is not open to the general public on Test days. MCC members can buy visitor tickets for their guests. For Day 1 in 2026 those were listed at A$88 for an adult reserved seat and A$76 unreserved, and A$36 or A$30 for a child aged 7 to 16, plus a Ticketek fee of A$9.25. If you know a member, it’s a different and more traditional way to spend the day. If you don’t, there’s no way in on match day, so don’t plan around it.

Where to sit

Two things matter more than the view: shade and company. A Test day is long and the Melbourne sun is fierce, so if you’re booking reserved seats and shade is a priority, look at where the roofline falls on the seating map before you choose. Groups wanting a livelier day tend to aim for the general areas around the Shane Warne Stand side; families and purists often prefer the quieter reserved sections. Wherever you sit, the cricket looks best from side-on, level with the pitch, rather than from behind the bowler’s arm at either end, where the sightscreens are.

Match Day at the MCG: What to Know

Gates and entry

On Day 1, gates open at 9am, ninety minutes before the first ball. Public entry is through Gates 1 and 3 to 7, with Gate 2 for the Members’ Reserve. Download your ticket to your phone before you leave and have it ready to scan at the turnstiles. Bags may be inspected on entry. Gate times for the other days are confirmed on the MCG’s event pages closer to the match.

What you can’t bring

The MCG’s conditions of entry list the items that are not permitted, including:

• alcohol;
• cans, glass and opened plastic soft-drink containers;
• chairs and stools;
• flags with handles longer than 1.6 metres;
• drones;
• large items that can’t fit under a seat.

Your bag needs to fit under your seat; anything larger goes to the cloakroom at Gate 3. Umbrellas can’t be raised in the seating areas, and rain ponchos are sold at most merchandise outlets if the weather turns. Cricket matches are also covered by Cricket Australia’s own ticket and entry conditions, so read both before you pack, especially if you’re planning to bring food or water.

Inside the ground

The MCG is a cashless venue for food, drink, merchandise and ticketing, so bring a card or phone payment. It’s also smoke-free and vape-free. Food outlets vary with the expected crowd, and queues at the main breaks are long; eat or buy drinks during a quiet over rather than at lunch. The ground’s management leaves sun protection and hydration up to spectators, which on a hot day means sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses and plenty of water.

The Australian Sports Museum

Ticket holders can visit the Australian Sports Museum, inside Gate 3, from the time the gates open until 15 minutes before the start of play. For Day 2, the MCG’s event page lists museum entry at half price for Test ticket holders, bought inside Gate 3. It’s a good way to fill the time if you’ve arrived early to beat the queues.

Getting to the MCG

Don’t drive. Parking around the ground is limited and the traffic after stumps is miserable. Public transport is simple, and on Boxing Day it’s part of the experience. You’ll need to tap on with Myki; our Melbourne public transport guide covers fares.

• Train to Jolimont: about 350 metres, or five minutes’ walk, through Yarra Park to Gate 2. From the city, take a Hurstbridge or Mernda line train.
• Train to Richmond: about 850 metres from the ground, on the Lilydale, Belgrave, Alamein, Glen Waverley, Frankston and Sandringham lines, and served directly by Werribee, Laverton and Williamstown line trains from the west.
• Tram: routes 75 and 48 to Stop 11 (Jolimont Station/MCG), about 300 metres from Gate 2, or route 70 via Melbourne Park to Stops 7B and 7C.
• Walk: from Flinders Street Station it’s about 1.6 km, or 20 minutes, along the river and over the William Barak footbridge. On a fine morning this is the nicest way to arrive.

The MCG’s free G-Train mobility shuttle runs around Yarra Park from gate opening for people who need help getting from the stations to the gates.

The Weather in Late December

Melbourne in late December is usually warm, but it isn’t reliably hot. The Bureau of Meteorology’s Melbourne Olympic Park station, a short walk from the MCG, gives a mean December maximum of 24.7 °C and a mean minimum of 14.4 °C, with 50.2 mm of rain in the month; its record only goes back to 2013. The longer record from the old Melbourne Regional Office site gives a mean December maximum of 24.2 °C. In practice that range hides everything from a cool, grey day in a jumper to a scorching northerly in the high thirties, and a Test day can include both. Check the forecast the night before and dress for the extremes.

Rain stops play, and the MCG has no roof, so a wet day means waiting around under cover. Take a light rain layer, but don’t bring an umbrella expecting to put it up in your seat. For more on the season, see our guide to Melbourne in December.

The Boxing Day Festival in Yarra Park

Cricket Australia ran a free Boxing Day Festival in Yarra Park, just outside the ground, alongside the 2025 Test, with live screens of the cricket and hours that followed the play. If it returns, it’s an easy way to share in the atmosphere without a ticket, or to keep watching once you’ve left the stands. Check cricket.com.au for what’s on around this year’s Test.

Making a Day (or Week) of It

The week between Christmas and New Year is one of the busiest in Melbourne’s sporting calendar, and you can build a whole trip around it.

• Football on 27 December. Melbourne City play Auckland FC at AAMI Park on 27 December, with the kick-off timed shortly after stumps on Day 2 of the Test. AAMI Park is a short walk from the MCG, so you can see two codes in one day.
• The Big Bash. The BBL season runs through the holidays, and the Melbourne Renegades have made the MCG their primary home ground from the 2026–27 season, alongside the Melbourne Stars. A night game is a very different kind of cricket from the Test, and a good one for kids. Check bigbash.com.au and mcg.org.au for the fixture.
• Richmond. On the other side of Yarra Park, Richmond has the pubs, the Vietnamese restaurants of Victoria Street and plenty of places for a post-match meal. Our Richmond guide has the details.
• New Year’s Eve. If the Test finishes on schedule on 30 December, you’ll be in town for New Year’s Eve the next night. Our New Year’s Eve in Melbourne guide covers the fireworks and where to watch.

Book accommodation early for the Christmas–New Year week. It’s peak summer holiday season, and the Test adds visitors from interstate and overseas. Our guide to where to stay in Melbourne compares the areas, and anywhere on a train line into Flinders Street or Richmond makes match days easy.

Our Honest Verdict

If you’re in Melbourne on Boxing Day, go, even if you don’t care much for cricket. Day 1 is a great piece of Australian theatre, the crowd is the star, and the MCG full on a summer morning is one of the world’s great sporting sights. Our pick for most visitors, though, is Day 2: the crowd is still huge, tickets are easier, and you’ll see a match with a shape to it.

What’s not worth it: paying a reseller’s premium for Day 1, or committing to Days 4 and 5 months in advance. And don’t feel you have to sit through the whole day. A session or two in the ground, a walk across Yarra Park and the final session on a pub screen in Richmond is a very Melbourne way to spend the day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Melbourne Guides

• Sport in Melbourne
• Melbourne in December
• New Year’s Eve in Melbourne
• Melbourne in Summer
• Richmond Guide

Photo Credits

Featured image — the MCC Members’ Reserve at the MCG in December 2022: Melbourne Cricket Club Member’s Reserve Dec 2022 by Jason L, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The MCG during the 2024 Boxing Day Test: Boxing Day Test 2024 panorama by Electricmaster, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A beer-cup snake in the crowd: Beer cup stacking at the MCG by Neb, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Marcus Harris batting: Marcus harris boxing day test by Neb, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Spectators on the MCG’s lower deck: melbournetourism.org media library.