After the Proteas’ great success on the cricket pitch against rivals Australia in both Test and ODI formats recently, the South Africans will be licking their lips for the series against Sri-Lanka, which takes place on home soil during December.
While the Sri-Lankans will play a tour match against a South African Invitational side from 18 to 20 December in Potchefstroom, the formal series kicks-off with the first of three Test matches. The match starts on Boxing Day, 26 December, in Port Elizabeth and will continue until 30 December.
With the Proteas on fire, many will be in attendance that day, either watching the game live or from in front of the TV, but very few are likely to know why there is such excitement surrounding a Boxing Day Test Match.
One source describes the Boxing Day Test Match as follows: On Christmas Day, 25 December, people used go to church and leave money and gifts for the poor in small boxes placed there by the priest. These boxes were formally known as Christmas Boxes. Today, neither the custom of the Christmas bonus nor the celebration of the day after Christmas as a public holiday named Boxing Day has changed. We may no longer receive a literal Christmas Box, but since 1980, Cricket Australia has hosted an annual cricket test match starting on 26 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, between Australia and a touring team. Thus the name – Boxing Day Test Match.
Another source indicates that, in times gone by, the servants of the wealthy had to work at their employers’ homes on Christmas Day. They were then given the following day, 26 December, off. They would also be given gifts packed in small boxes (i.e. Christmas Boxes) by their employers as a bonus.
A third source indicates that there is a long-standing tradition of a Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) being played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground over the Christmas period. It included Boxing Day as one of the scheduled days of play, much to the chagrin of the NSW players who missed spending Christmas with their families as a result.
New Zealand and South Africa also host Boxing Day test matches.
In South Africa, a Boxing Day Test is said to be played if a visiting national team is touring the Republic during the Christmas period, and a match is scheduled to start on Boxing Day. Although this match is traditionally played in Durban, this was not the case when the West Indies toured in 2014, nor will it be the case this year, when Sri-Lanka will be touring the country.
The schedule for Sri Lanka’s tour of SA is:
• 5-day Test in PE from 26 to 30 December 2016
• 5-day Test in Cape Town from 2 to 6 January 2017
• 5-day Test in JHB from 12 to 16 January 2017
• T20 match in Centurion on 20 January 2017
• T20 match in JHB on 22 January 2017
• T20 match in Cape Town on 25 January 2017
• One-day International (ODI) match in PE on 28 January 2017
• ODI match in Durban on 1 February 2017
• ODI match in JHB on 4 February 2017
• ODI match in Cape Town on 7 February 2017
• ODI match in Centurion on 10 February 2017
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