Last Updated on 4 months ago by Charbel Coorey
Summer? What summer? Melbourne will shiver through cold temperatures this week, with a top of 17 degrees on Christmas Day. Boxing Day won’t be much warmer, with a top of 18 degrees as forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
It is a far cry from day one of last year’s Boxing Day Test between Australia and India. It was a hot, muggy day with temperatures touching 40 degrees.
Will it rain in Melbourne during the Ashes Boxing Day Test?
It may be a cool first couple of days, but the good news is rain won’t be much of a factor, if it all.
According to BOM, there is a possible shower or two on Friday (day one), but only a 25% chance of up to 1mm. The weather will warm up on days two, three and four, with temperatures of 21 degrees, 27 degrees and 32 degrees respectively. No rain is expected on any of those three days.
AccuWeather forecasts similar, with occasional afternoon rain a possibility on day five.
Spotlight on MCG pitch as Australia aim to go 4-0 up
The MCG curators are aiming to replicate the pitch that was prepared for the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) classic.
“It’s probably the best Test match I have been involved with,” said Melbourne Cricket Club curator Matt Page, as quoted by cricket.com.au.
“The contest throughout, the ebbs and flows, one team was up, then the next team was up, all three results were still possible on day five.
“It was a fantastic Test match, so if we can replicate this year that would be fantastic.”
Rain in the lead up to the Test could impact the pitch preparation. Last year, the groundstaff left seven or eight millimetres of grass for the BGT Test. With sunny conditions forecast on days two, three and four, Page hinted at the possibility of leaving more moisture in the pitch.
“We were seven or eight (mm of grass) last year,” Page said.
“The next couple of days, with the way the weather is, a few showers on Christmas Day and then obviously we’ll get some heat day three, day four. We’ll keep monitoring it.”
Since the bore draw in the 2017/18 Ashes, the MCG has seen results in all seven Tests since. There have been some excellent matches, including the 2023 Test against Pakistan which ebbed and flowed.
