MCG becomes family retreat for Australian team before Boxing Day Test

Families do keep elite sportsmen grounded in every sense of the worldTwenty four hours prior to the start of a highoctane Boxing Day Test the gargantuan MCG resembled an annual function of a nursery school with families of Australian cricketers joining them for a customary stroll of the G and savour the traditional Turkey roastThere was Pat Cummins wife Becky and Mitch Marshs better half Greta and they were seen enjoying some light moments along with their childrenSteve Smith had his father Peter for company while Andrew McDonalds teenager son Ollie was seen taking throwdowns at an adjacent net alongside Travis HeadSam Konstas family has flown in from Sydney to see him wear the Baggy Green for the first time on ThursdayThe kids ran around with their fathers who didnt want to miss even a second of this precious family time which is a rarity for international cricketers mostly living out of their suitcasesMerry Christmas from one of the worldrsquos biggest playgrounds the MCG with the Aussies out and about frolicking with family this morning A magnificent day in Melbourne ahead of the fourth Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy against India pictwittercomI5Pea8A2MOmdash Courtney Walsh walshcee December 24 2024Merry Christmas from the MCG Aussie team and their growing family are soaking up the morning before the Boxing Day Test pictwittercomY7n7i969uLmdash Tom Wilson Tom_Wilson7 December 24 2024Families of Australian cricketers at the MCG Therersquos a net session underway too and Steve Smith is still in there Merry Christmas pictwittercomQyK9QbjcUSmdash Sahil Malhotra Sahil_Malhotra1 December 24 2024Its great We spend probably more time on the road than we do at home So this is kind of a big extended family and at the moment its chaos It feels like theres I dont know on average probably two kids per personSo theres about 30 or 40 kids running around between the staff and the players Its great fun Cummins looked very chilled when asked how special the gathering isCummins said that before his big day teenager Konstas was being made to feel at home making him a part of all the fun frolic and festivities on ChristmasYeah hes great just quite relaxed good fun happy to take the you know roll along with the jokes and take the mickey out of himself and others We just always encourage him to be himselfHe seems relatively like hes got a good head on his shoulders for a 19yearold so were there backing him up Thats a growing cricket family just give us an insight on how special it is to have everyone together today Cummins saidTalking about a big extended family Cummins said how all the wives and partners got along nicely to create a very happy environmentAll the partners get on so well This year we havent had as many partners travelling for matches because everyone has got young ones at home But they all come together for the Melbourne and Sydney TestIts always a great time of year so well go off to Christmas lunch after this and all the kids have got presents this morning and running around and hyper so its absolute chaos but its awesome he concludedWith PTI inputs