JOE ROOT and Harry Brook set a new record for the highest Test Partnership in England history – but it all happened inside an almost empty stadium in Pakistan.
This comes after tickets were available for FREE inside the Multan Cricket Stadium.
England racked up 823-7 against Pakistan before stand-in captain Ollie Pope declared in the first Test in Multan.
Brook hit a triple century and Root made a double ton as records tumbled.
Together, they surpassed England’s previous record partnership of 409 runs – set by Colin May and Peter Cowdry against the West Indies in 1957.
When Root eventually fell for 262, it brought an end to a partnership of 454 – the fourth-highest in the history of Test cricket.
Meanwhile, Brook went beyond his teammate before eventually being dismissed for 317 from just 332 balls.
But all of these record-breaking successes occurred in front of, at best, almost 1,000 people inside a near EMPTY stadium.
Former England captain and co-commentator Mike Atherton voiced his disappointment over the extremely low turnout.
He said: “There are probably more security staff at the stadium than people in the crowd.”
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Following the lacklustre turnout on Day 2, the PCB announced that fans would be allowed free entry to the stadium for Days 3 and 4.
The main issue which has contributed to bad crowds is that it was only confirmed 17 days before the first day of the opening Test.
But the poor attendance also comes at a time when Test cricket in Pakistan is facing difficulties.
A lack of crowds could highlight the diminishing interest in the longer format of the game.
Another reason why there are so few fans is because there aren’t many English spectators.
The Barmy Army often organise all of the trips abroad for England members, but they revealed ahead of the tour, there would only be about 20 going.
Many members are also simply saving for The Ashes next year.
Both Root and Brook recorded their highest Test scores, with the former overtaking Alastair Cook to become England’s all-time leading Test run scorer with 12,472.
Brook also became the first Englishman to score over 20,000 international runs across all three formats.
