Melbourne, Dec 30: The ongoing Boxing Day Test between India and Australia has set a new record for attendance figures in longer format games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), beating the previous record set in 1936/37 when Australia faced England in a six-day game.
Presently, 51,371 fans are at the MCG for day five’s play, and more are expected to enter the stadium for witnessing a thrilling finish to a game full of twists and turns. It has propelled the ongoing game to beat the previous overall record of 350,534 spectators at the same ground during the 1936/37 Ashes series against England, when Donald Bradman made 270. As per Cricket Australia (CA), with more than 351,104 fans in attendance for five days, the game has also entered record books as the highest-attended Test match ever in Australia.
“We’ve officially surpassed the attendance record set in 1936/37 when Australia faced England — a Test which spanned six days,” said the MCG through its ‘X’ account on Monday. “Thank you, Melbourne.
An Australian cricketing record, an MCG record and history made,” Cricket Australia said on its ‘X’ account. Such has been the rush of fans coming into the MCG for witnessing day five’s play that the stadium staff have been scrambling around to make more arrangements around security, as well as food and beverage supplies, with all sections of the stadium open to accommodate spectators.
The attendance figure for opening day of the ongoing Boxing Day Test stood at 87,242, which became a new record for the highest single match-day attendance in a Test match between the two teams. Day three’s play on Saturday attracted 83,073 fans, which set a new record for spectator attendance on the moving day of a Boxing Day Test match.
The record-breaking spectator attendances for the Boxing Day Test is attributed to a massive contingent of Indian fans, bringing in a carnival-like atmosphere at the MCG. The previous-best record for overall attendance in a Boxing Day Test was 271,865 during the 2013/14 Ashes.
IANS