Melbourne Cricket Ground shatters 87-year-old attendance record

Melbourne: The all-time attendance record at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was smashed on Monday when the total attendance of the fourth Test touched an unprecedented 350,700.

The presence of 51,371 spectators at lunch time meant the overall turnout had surpassed the previous high of 350,535 set way back during the 1937 Ashes when the great Don Bradman was at the peak of his powers.

The number crossed the 60,000 mark post lunch on day five with India chasing a daunting 340-run target.

"Day 5 current attendance is 51,371. The total attendance of 350,700 is the greatest for any Test match at the MCG exceeding the total of 350,534 v England in 1937 over 6 days. This is also the greatest attendance for any Test match played in Australia," said Cricket Australia in a release.

The fourth Test between India and Australia has also become the second highest attended game of all time behind only the India-Pakistan game at the Eden Gardens in 1999 when the overall turnout stood at 4,65,000.

It was not a record but as many as 87,242 fans watched the proceedings on day one. Day two turnout was a record with 85,147 people thronging to the stadium and so was day three when 83,073 fans walked into the iconic venue. On Sunday, the count was 43,867.

All tickets for the action on Monday were priced at 10 Australian dollars.

"I've not seen anything like it at a cricket match," Melbourne Cricket Club boss Stuart Fox was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"I think that just the spirit in the stadium ... all of our staff on day one just said how happy the crowd were. I thought Taylor Swift was big, but this has been something else.

"But I think with Taylor Swift coming in, a fantastic AFL season, then this Boxing Day Test, it's (2024) going to be hard to beat, I can assure you," he added.