The ongoing Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has set a new attendance record, with over 350,000 fans turning up to witness the thrilling Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 encounter between India and Australia in Melbourne.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) broke the all-time attendance record for a Test in Australia before lunch on Day 5, surpassing a record that had stood for 87 years with the current total attendance of 351,104.
Boxing Day Test makes history at the MCG
Notably, the total attendance of 350,700 is the highest ever for a Test match in Australia. Cricket Australia (CA) on the fifth day of the ongoing fourth Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 confirmed that the attendance of over 351,000 fans in Melbourne has broken the long-standing record for the most fans ever to attend a single Test match in Australia.
The excitement around the traditional Boxing Day Test, played in the week after Christmas, has brought huge crowds to the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), with over 80,000 spectators filling the stands on each of the first three days of action between India and Australia.
Thank you, Melbourne.
An Australian cricketing record, an MCG record and history made ❤️ #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/VVvfwKWd6J
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) December 30, 2024
The intense action and drama on Day 5 of the ongoing Boxing Day Test are expected to push the numbers even further, surpassing the previous attendance record held by the MCG itself.
Melbourne Cricket Ground expects over 70,000 fans to attend the Day 5 actions between India and Australia
The record for the most fans ever to attend a single Test match at the MCG stood for 87 years, and it was set during the Ashes series in January 1937, when 350,534 fans attended across six days. The main draw then was Sir Donald Bradman, who had become Australia’s first national cricketing icon, drawing immense crowds at the venue.
The MCG was packed to capacity for the first three days of the Boxing Day Test, with many fans from India filling the stands. It felt almost like a home crowd when Nitish Kumar Reddy celebrated his maiden Test century at the MCG. However, on Day 4, the attendance dropped to just over 40,000.
But Cricket Australia (CA) was surprised by a strong increase in numbers on the morning of Day 5, as more than 50,000 fans made their way to the MCG in the first session alone. However, the MCG expects over 70,000 fans to attend on Day 5 of the ongoing fourth BGT 2024-25 Test, which would push the total attendance for the week past the 350,000 mark.
Australia vs India 4th Test becomes second-highest attended game of all time
The first day of the Boxing Day Test was especially popular, with 87,000 people attending the exciting contest at the MCG. To make the Australia vs. India contest more accessible to the Melbourne crowd, Cricket Australia (CA) announced that tickets for Day 5 would be priced at just AUD 10 (around INR 530), while entry for children under 15 would be free.
Notably, the single-day attendance is lower than some other matches, but the overall attendance for the MCG Test made it the second-highest attended of all time in the history of cricket. The record for the highest attendance still belongs to the historic India vs. Pakistan match at Eden Gardens in 1999, which saw an incredible 465,000 fans over the five days of play.