Boxing Day Test 2026: Australia vs New Zealand at the MCG, Start Times in US and UK

The Boxing Day Test between Australia and New Zealand starts Saturday, Dec. 26, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. local time at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), according to Cricket Australia’s season schedule and the MCG’s event page, which is 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Friday, Dec. 25 in the United States. For readers in the U.K., Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), it is 11:30 p.m. the same Friday. The table below converts every day of the Test, and the Perth, Adelaide and Sydney Tests too. This story has no squads, scores or results.

Cricket Australia released the international season schedule on March 22, 2026 and says all times in it are local. It lists four Tests against New Zealand, and the third is the one at the MCG. A free watch guide printable at the end of the story puts the same times on one sheet.

Boxing Day Test 2026 start times by day

Melbourne is on Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) plus 11 hours, in December. U.S. clocks went back to standard time on Nov. 1, 2026 (the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) says on time.gov the change occurred at 2 a.m. local time that Sunday), so ET is UTC minus 5 hours and Pacific Time (PT) is UTC minus 8 hours. The U.K. has been on GMT since Oct. 25, and its next change is March 28, 2027, according to GOV.UK. For the full gap between the two countries, see our U.S.-Australia time difference story.

The MCG’s event page lists Day 1 as Saturday, Dec. 26, 10:30 a.m. Cricket Australia’s release gives the Test as Dec. 26 to 30 with a 10:30 a.m. start. Day 5 below is therefore the scheduled start from the release, not a separate event page.

Day	Melbourne (AEDT)	ET	PT	GMT
Day 1	Sat., Dec. 26, 10:30 a.m.	Fri., Dec. 25, 6:30 p.m.	Fri., Dec. 25, 3:30 p.m.	Fri., Dec. 25, 11:30 p.m.
Day 2	Sun., Dec. 27, 10:30 a.m.	Sat., Dec. 26, 6:30 p.m.	Sat., Dec. 26, 3:30 p.m.	Sat., Dec. 26, 11:30 p.m.
Day 3	Mon., Dec. 28, 10:30 a.m.	Sun., Dec. 27, 6:30 p.m.	Sun., Dec. 27, 3:30 p.m.	Sun., Dec. 27, 11:30 p.m.
Day 4	Tue., Dec. 29, 10:30 a.m.	Mon., Dec. 28, 6:30 p.m.	Mon., Dec. 28, 3:30 p.m.	Mon., Dec. 28, 11:30 p.m.
Day 5	Wed., Dec. 30, 10:30 a.m.	Tue., Dec. 29, 6:30 p.m.	Tue., Dec. 29, 3:30 p.m.	Tue., Dec. 29, 11:30 p.m.

We computed the ET, PT and GMT columns from the local start times. Every day lands on the evening before in the U.S. and the U.K., so Day 1 begins on Christmas Day. Mark it on the December 2026 printable calendar.

Australia v New Zealand Test series 2026 schedule

Cricket Australia’s release lists these Tests, all against New Zealand. None of the four carries the “(D/N)” day-night label the release uses elsewhere. Perth and Adelaide are not on Melbourne time: Perth uses Australian Western Standard Time (AWST), UTC plus 8 hours, and Adelaide uses Australian Central Daylight Time (ACDT), UTC plus 10 hours 30 minutes. Sydney is on AEDT, like Melbourne.

Test	Venue	Dates (local)	Day 1 local start	Day 1 in ET	Day 1 in GMT
First	Perth Stadium, Perth	Dec. 9-13	10:20 a.m. Wed., Dec. 9	9:20 p.m. Tue., Dec. 8	2:20 a.m. Wed., Dec. 9
Second	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	Dec. 17-21	11 a.m. Thu., Dec. 17	7:30 p.m. Wed., Dec. 16	12:30 a.m. Thu., Dec. 17
Third	MCG, Melbourne	Dec. 26-30	10:30 a.m. Sat., Dec. 26	6:30 p.m. Fri., Dec. 25	11:30 p.m. Fri., Dec. 25
Fourth	Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Sydney	Jan. 4-8, 2027	10:30 a.m. Mon., Jan. 4	6:30 p.m. Sun., Jan. 3	11:30 p.m. Sun., Jan. 3

Cricket Australia’s series page for Australia v New Zealand Tests 2026-27 shows slightly different dates for the third and fourth Tests; this story uses the March 22 release and the MCG’s own page. Pacific Time readers subtract three hours from the ET column. Mark the Sydney Test on the January 2027 printable calendar.

When is the 150th Anniversary Test at the MCG in 2027?

The same release lists the 150th Anniversary Test against England at the MCG on March 11-15, 2027, starting at 2 p.m. local time. It is marked “(D/N)” and played “under lights”. The U.S. is still on standard time until March 14, 2027, so 2 p.m. AEDT on Thursday, March 11 is 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 10, and 3 a.m. GMT on March 11, by our conversion.

Where can you watch the Boxing Day Test in the US and UK?

No U.S. or U.K. broadcaster is confirmed on a rights holder’s page as of Nov. 3, 2026, so none is named here. Cricket Australia says the season is shown live in Australia on Kayo Sports, Foxtel, Seven and 7plus. Check your own TV or streaming provider’s cricket listings closer to the date.

Squads are not yet announced, and the sources do not give lunch and tea times, so the table shows only start times. For another New Zealand schedule converted to ET and GMT, see India vs New Zealand 2026. Another Australian date converted for U.S. and U.K. readers is the Melbourne Cup 2026.

Boxing Day Test 2026 watch guide printable

The two-page watch guide lists each Test day above with its ET, PT and GMT time and a field for where you are watching. Its source note names Cricket Australia and the MCG, and the times were converted by Fresh Calendars.