The Boxing Day Test is a traditional
cricket match which is held in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
annually.
History
The history of South Africa's Boxing Day Test traces back to 1913, with a match against England in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
.
The tradition became more established after South Africa's return to international cricket in the early 1990s, with the 1992 match against India being a notable milestone.
In 2012, an attempt was made to replace the Test with a T20I format, but it was unsuccessful.
In 2020, the Boxing Test match against Sri Lanka was notably played behind closed doors due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
precautions.
On several occasions South Africa has played in Australia's annual
Boxing Day Test
The Boxing Day Test match is a cricket Test match held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, involving the Australia national cricket team and an opposing national team that is touring Australia during the southern summer. It begins annually on ...
as the touring side; on such occasions no Boxing Day Test match was held in South Africa.
Venue
The first modern Boxing Day Test was held at
St George's Park Cricket Ground
St George's Park Cricket Ground (commonly known as St George's Park, Crusaders Ground or simply Crusaders) is a cricket ground in Gqeberha, (formerly known as Port Elizabeth), in South Africa. It is the home of the Port Elizabeth Cricket Club, ...
in
Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...
in 1992.
Two years later, in 1994, the venue shifted to
Kingsmead Cricket Ground
Kingsmead is a Cricket field, cricket ground in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its stated capacity is 25,000, although grass terracing makes up part of the viewing area. The 'end names' are the Umgeni End (north) and the Old Fort Road End ...
in
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
. Durban's Kingsmead remained the predominant venue for the event until 2011, when the Test was hosted at
Newlands Cricket Ground
Newlands Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in Newlands, Cape Town. One of the oldest sporting stadiums in South Africa, the ground is owned by the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) and is the home of Western Province and MI Cape ...
in
Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
.
[https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/boxing-day-stats-230834]
In 2018, the venue was shifted to
SuperSport Park
Centurion Park is a cricket ground in Centurion in South Africa. It is also known as SuperSport Park since television company SuperSport bought shares in the stadium. The capacity of the ground is 22,000.
The Titans cricket team have played mo ...
in
Centurion
In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...
, reflecting changes in preferences and attendance patterns.
List of Boxing Day Test matches held in South Africa
Overall Record - South Africa vs Visitors
See also
*
Boxing Day Test (Australia)
*
Boxing Day Test (New Zealand)
The Boxing Day Test is a cricket Test match held in New Zealand, involving the New Zealand national cricket team against a touring side.
History
The inaugural Boxing Day Test took place in 1998 at Basin Reserve, featuring a match against India a ...
*
Pink ODI
References
{{reflist
South Africa in international cricket
Test cricket
December in sports
Christmas traditions
Boxing Day