The Boxing Day Test between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is poised to break the aggregate crowd attendance record. Strong support for the Indian team has driven massive crowds during the first three days of play. On Saturday, 83,073 fans attended, setting a new record for day three attendance at a Boxing Day Test. This figure is the highest since a record set in January 1937, when Sir Donald Bradman was actively playing.
The MCG’s record for test cricket stands at 350,534, achieved during the 1936-37 Ashes series. The largest crowd for a Boxing Day Test was 271,865 during the 2013-14 Ashes. With 87,242 attending on Thursday and 85,147 on Friday, the aggregate for the current test is already the third-largest, sitting at 255,462. It appears certain to surpass the previous Australia-India Boxing Day Test record, which was 194,481 in 2014.
Despite rain cutting short the play on day three, the outlook for the remaining days of the test is favorable, suggesting that the attendance record will likely be broken before the end of the series.
