Donald Bradman era record shattered as fans flock to MCG

A record that has stood since Don Bradman graced the crease has finally been broken during the gripping Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

The MCG attendance record has been shattered as fans turned out in the tens of thousands for the final day of the Boxing Day Test.

Before lunch on day five, the crowd had already cracked 50,000 and was still climbing rapidly, making the total attendance for the Test more than 351,000.

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That made it the largest total for any Test match at the MCG, eclipsing the previous record of 350,534 which has stood since 1937.

It would eventually soar way past the old mark, with a staggering 74,362 fans packing into the ground for day five, taking the total attendance to 373,691 as Australia sealed a famous win during the final session.

The magnitude of breaking that record is only added to by the fact that in that Test, Donald Bradman was captaining Australia in a grudge match against England.

The game was also played over six days, making the crowd number for this five-day Test all the more impressive.

The MCG attendance record was shattered before lunch on Day 5. Image: Michael Klein

Unsurprisingly, the figure is also the greatest attendance for any Test match played in Australia and as the crowd swelled at the gates from 9am it was a record that was always going to tumble on Monday.

Before the gates had even opened, a huge crowd gathered outside the MCG, eager to snap up the discounted $10 tickets and free entry for children.

And such was the degree of fans that Cricket Australia backtracked on plans to keep the Ponsford Stand and level four closed for the day.

There were estimations as many as 75,000 punters could take their seats by the end of the Test and it ultimately fell just short of that figure, with Aussie great Michael Hussey blown away by the turnout.

“Wow, what a crowd,” he said on Fox Cricket.

“It’s a record. Highest Test match crowd ever at the MCG. It’s still growing.”

While Ravi Shastri added: “Wow. All of India is awake now watching this telecast. Watching to see if India can get out of this one.”

Virat Kohli has been the villain in the Boxing Day Test (Photo by William WEST / AFP)

The success of the Boxing Day Test comes after a series of crowd records were broken at Perth’s Optus Stadium during The West Test at the start of the series.

A lot of the credit for the large turnouts has been put down to the massive contingent of Indian fans who have brought a carnival-like atmosphere wherever they have gone.

The rival fan groups have also enjoyed good-spirited ribbing of one another and each team’s players.

Cricketers such as Sam Konstas and Virat Kohli have both been the subject of adulation from the MCG crowd.

But the former Indian captain has not just been cheered.

As a result of his run-in with the teen debutant in the first innings, Kohli has been booed both times he has come out to bat by Aussie spectators.

But those jeers have been mostly drowned out on each occasion by the raucous cheers from the Indian contingent, making the atmosphere one more similar to a European football game than a Test match.

Originally published as Donald Bradman era record shattered as fans flock to MCG