Boxing Day Test: Australian cricket stars and their families take to the MCG for Christmas Day celebrations

Australia’s cricket stars and their growing hoard of young children spent Christmas Day on the middle of the MCG as the side prepares for the blockbuster Boxing Day Test.

West Aussie Mitch Marsh was joined by his wife Greta and newborn baby Olive for a walk around the hallowed turf, while Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Alex Carey also played with their kids.

Fellow West Aussie Josh Inglis will have to wait a little longer for a Test debut with Head passed fit, but he spent time in the middle with his partner Megan and son Oscar.

Perth Scorchers star Jhye Richardson was also there after his surprise call-up as a reserve bowler to the side. He stayed in Melbourne after the Scorchers’ loss to the Renegades on Monday night.

Steve Smith checked the MCG wicket with his father Peter, while 19-year-old Sam Konstas — about to become the fourth-youngest man to play Test cricket for Australia — was also with his family.

Andrew McDonald’s son Ollie padded up and was receiving throwdowns alongside superstar Travis Head as he was put through a fitness test to prove he had overcome a quad injury.

Captain Cummins said

“It’s great, we spend probably more time on the road than we do at home, so this is kind of the big extended family,” he said.

“At the moment it’s chaos, it feels like there are on average probably two kids per person, so there are about 30 or 40 kids running around between the staff and the players.

“It is great fun, all the partners get on so well. This year we haven’t had as many partners travelling because everyone has got young ones at home, but they all come together for the Melbourne and Sydney Tests and it’s always a great time of year.

“We will go off to Christmas lunch after this and all the kids have got presents this morning and are running around. It’s absolute chaos, but it’s awesome.”

Wednesday was a rest day for India, who brought their customary pre-match press conference forward to Tuesday.