MELBOURNE: Security has been beefed up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), venue for the much anticipating Boxing Day Test between Australia and Pakistan following the arrest of seven people over a terror-related plot in the city.

Those charged were allegedly planning to attack Melbourne’s Flinders Street train station, nearby Federation Square and St Paul’s Cathedral on Christmas Day.

Chief police commissioner Graham Ashton said while they are confident the terror plot had been contained, extra police will be deployed at major events.

Host Australia after scoring victory in the first Test by narrow margin of 39 runs at the Gabba in Brisbane will take on Pakistan in the second Test. A third Test in the series begins 3 January in Sydney.

On Sunday, while Steve Smith has announced an unchanged Australian XI for the Boxing Day Test, his Pakistan counterpart Misbah-ul-Haq left everybody guessing about the combination he will field at the MCG.

Earlier, Pakistan beat Australia at the MCG twice in 1979 and 1981, but have three losses and a draw in the four Tests they've played at the ground since then, most recently in 2009.