A new attendance record was set for a Test match in Australia with more than 350,700 people passing through the gates of the MCG over the five days of the fourth Test between Australia and India, surpassing the previous mark of 350,534 set in 1937.
cricket Australia confirmed on Monday that 51,371 had already attended the first session of the fifth day, with more to follow later in the afternoon.
The crowds have been absolutely extraordinary for this Test match with daily counts of 87,242, 85,147, 83,073, 43,867 and 51,371 and counting. A day five crowd exceeding day four is unheard of with the Melbourne cricket Club, which runs the MCG, underestimating the day five number.
They opened Yarra Park outside the grounds for general public parking on the fifth day, which is a rarity. But they only had one gate open and that caused a major bottleneck before the game with several fans arriving late to the stadium.
The record numbers follow the huge crowds India attracted at the MCG for the 2022 T20 World Cup, when 90,293 watched India play Pakistan and 82,507 watched India play Zimbabwe.
