Today is 26.12
.. .. like the (forgotten) tradition of Pongal Test (once upon a time) at
Chepauk, Melbourne hosts ‘Boxing Day’ test – Australians are batting first !
Despite Mike
Tyson's son Miguel Leon not opting for a career in boxing, it appears that the
Tyson fighting gene is rife as he displayed some quick hands on the pads. In a recent Instagram post, Tyson uploaded a
pad session of his son which has received an abundance of appreciation from
boxing fans. "He just started. Not
trying to box just trying to stay fit. Morning workouts with the Baddest Dad on
the Planet," Iron Mike captioned the video. The post received a wealth of
support, with many fans claiming that he should definitely turn to professional
fighting.
World heavyweight champion
Anthony Joshua has made a substantial donation to help fund amateur boxing in
Britain - saying he hopes "we have not lost the next generation" of
fighters. Some clubs have closed and boxing was not included on a list of
sports that received a £300m bailout in November. Briton Joshua, 31, gave a
six-figure sum to the amateur boxing federations of England, Wales and
Scotland. "Without grassroots boxing, there is no Anthony Joshua," he
said. "The doors to these gyms are always open to any kid from any
background," Joshua, who turned professional after winning Olympic gold at
London 2012, told BBC.
Boxing Day tests
at Melbourne are a tradition – on this day in 1975, Lawrence Rowe was out for a
duck .. .. ..and today Ashwin snared Steve Smith for a duck.
Could recall that on this
day in 2003, Virender Sehwag set Australia ablaze with a brilliant knock of 195 on
that first day. He redefined the way you
went about it at the top of the order. He hit
25 fours and five sixes and struck the ball so hard at times.
By change of events – now Ashwin
is back to his prime place as ‘numero Uno’ spinner in Indian team. As Gavaskar wrote, if he had not performed so
well in the 1st, he would have been victimized !! – today he in the
first session he took 2 wickets, with Smith (0) being one among that. Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj made their
debuts.
Less than two months ago
Melbourne was yet to come out of its 112-day lockdown, although it was in its
final stages. For that reason, even a month ago there seemed about as much
chance of the Boxing Day Test being played at the MCG as there was of Field
Marshal Mark McGowan of the Western Australia brigade softening a border. Cricket
Australia had been making and re-making plans for alternate locations for the
last Test match of the year. Could two Tests be played in Sydney as had
happened several times before the WACA ground became a Test venue? With Queensland’s politicians again making ad
hoc exclusions to travellers, the most delicious solution came late last week
when it was suggested that the Gabba would lose its Test as no travellers were
allowed into the Sunshine State, including media and production staff. You
can’t have your cake and eat it too, but apparently there are some state
premiers with a sweet tooth.
The
Melbourne Test starting on the 26th is a tradition of the modern kind. The
original Boxing Day Test was in 1950 and followed up in 1952 but only held once
in the 1960s, twice in the 1970s and then without a break since the New Zealand
Test in 1980. Christmas cricket in Melbourne post-World War II was reserved
mostly for the Victoria v NSW Sheffield Shield game, which ran either side of
yule. Christmas Day was a rest day and, when possible, in the age of airlines
some NSW players took a flight home at their own expense to spend the day with
family.
When we played here last
in 2018 – India won by 137 runs. India 7
for 443 dec (Pujara 106, Kohli 82, Agarwal 76, Rohit 63*) and 8 for 106 dec
(Cummins 6-27) beat Australia 151 (Bumrah 6-33) and 261 (Cummins 63)
Boxing Day Test matches
are cricket matches that are typically held on December 26, a day after
Christmas, in Commonwealth nations Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand.
But, the most popular one takes place at Australia’s iconic Melbourne Cricket
Ground (MCG)… .. ‘Boxing Day’ does not connote ‘boxing’ sports! .. .. the date got the name because alms boxes were
traditionally opened on the day, others state that servants were given presents
on December 26 for working on Christmas Day. It's also a public bank holiday in the UK. When
26 December is a Saturday, the Boxing Day bank holiday is moved to the next
Monday. If 26 December falls on a Sunday, then the holiday is the following
Tuesday.
Interesting !
26.12.2020
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