The record for a biggest Test cricket crowd in Australia was set on Boxing Day (December 26) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as the host nation took on India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The 74,362 fans present took the total attendance of the Boxing Day Test to 373,691, making it the largest for any Test in Australia.
The Test ran from December 26-30, amassing 87,242 fans on the first day, 85,147 on the second, and 83,073 and 43,867 on the third and fourth days, respectively.
It eclipsed the 350,534 that saw the six-day Test between Australia and England at the same ground in 1937, where Don Bradman scored 270 in one of the best performances of his career.
“We could sense we were going to reach this significant attendance milestone – crowd figures we would have previously only associated with an Ashes series,” said Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stuart Fox.
“Breaking the all-time MCG Test match attendance is even more remarkable when you consider the 1936-37 [match] was played over six days, when the stadium had a capacity of about 88,000.”
The record was set despite a lower-than-expected turnout of 87,242. Every ticket had been sold but temperatures close to 40 degrees Celsius dissuaded many from turning up.
This left the individual Boxing Day record short of the 91,112 best set against England in 2013.
Fans made use of cheaper tickets to attend the match, with adults being charged A$10 (£5/$6/€6) while those aged 15 and under went in for free.
There is still some way to go before the all-time Test attendance record is broken. The current highest total was set in 1999 when India took on Pakistan at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The fifth and final Test of the series is set to begin tomorrow and will run until January 7 at Sydney Cricket Ground.
