How Long Is a Cricket Game?

The gentleman’s game, as cricket is popularly known, has changed a lot over the years. It used to be slow and long, stretching over five days with plenty of breaks for meals and rest. But the modern versions are completely different (and much quicker). 

Now, cricket matches are faster, more TV-friendly, and easier to keep fans hooked.

Their runtime depends on the format being played. T20 games are over in about three hours. ODIs take a full day. Test matches stretch across five days, with breaks in between. T10s, the quickest version yet, are done and dusted in under two hours. Each version serves its own purpose and caters to different kinds of audiences.

In this guide, we’ll break down each format and how much time you can expect to spend watching or playing.

How Long Does a Cricket Game Last?

There’s a good reason why newer formats have emerged in this game. It’s because the five-day test match doesn’t guarantee a result. This means you could invest five days of your time watching teams play for six hours every day (with two breaks), and still the match ends in a draw.

Newer formats guarantee a result. If the match ends in a draw, the shorter formats allow extra time, called a “super over,” to decide the winner, just like football matches. 

So, how long does a cricket game last for each format? Modern-day cricket contains a total of five formats – Test matches, One Day Internationals (ODIs), T20s, T10s, and The Hundred. At the international level, only Test matches, ODIs, and T20s are played.

A typical Test match is played over five days, and teams can bat till the time they decide to declare the innings or till the time they are all out. The other four formats are concluded in a single day. An ODI game might be completed within 7 to 8 hours, while a T20 game might be over within four hours. A T10 match typically takes 90 minutes to be completed, while a match in The Hundred takes around 2.5 hours to be concluded.

Here’s a complete breakdown of each format:

Test Matches

Test cricket is very simple; you bat for the duration you want or till the time all 10 batters are dismissed. There are a total of four innings, also known as sessions. Both teams get two innings each to bat and bowl. A minimum of 90 overs are bowled per day in a test match, and a single day of play is divided into three sessions. In a normal Test match, teams take lunch after the first session and go for tea after the second session.

In 2012, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced a new variation – the day-night Test matches. In this format, teams take a dinner break after the first session, while tea is taken after the second session. Australia and New Zealand were the first two teams to play the first-ever day-night Test match in November 2015.

A typical Test match lasts over five days. However, weather and pitch conditions play a huge role in its duration. Sometimes matches start late because of rain. And if it starts raining mid-match, players walk off the field, and the game is halted. The game resumes after the rain stops and the cricket pitch dries. The number of overs lost due to rain or any other condition is adjusted in the game’s play.

The pitch conditions also play a huge role in how long a cricket game lasts. For example, when there’s grass on the pitch, the ball moves around more, and batters often struggle to settle in. Dry or cracked pitches are perfect for spinners to turn the ball sharply. In such conditions, even a modest total can be hard to chase. This means the match may end quicker. However, if the pitch has nothing to offer to bowlers, matches quickly turn into run-fests and go on for the full 90 overs.

Pitch conditions change from country to country and even from day to day in longer formats. That’s why teams spend so much time reading the surface before making decisions at the toss.

In day-night matches, dew can be a factor too, making it easier to bat second.

Then there’s the concept of declaring the innings. A declaration means that the batting team decides to end their innings even though they have batters left. An innings gets shortened when a team decides to declare, and hence, the duration of the game also gets reduced.

One Day Internationals (ODIs)

The first ODI match was played on January 5 in 1971, between Australia and England. This was not because there was a need for a new format, but because a Test match scheduled between the two teams couldn’t get started on time. England toured Australia in 1971 to play a seven-match Test series. The first three days of the third Test between the two teams were washed out due to rain. The officials decided to abandon that game and instead play a one-off one-day game consisting of 40 overs and eight-ball overs per side. Australia won this game by five wickets.

In the early days of ODI cricket, the number of overs varied from 40 to 60 per side. Some matches were even played where 35 to 40 overs and eight-ball overs per side were bowled. Since the mid-90s, the number of overs has been uniformly fixed to 50 per side.

Even in the first three ODI World Cups, 60 six-ball per over matches were played. The matches were played with a red ball, and players wore white jerseys. The first 50-over World Cup was played in 1987 because the matches were played in India and Pakistan, and the Indian subcontinent had shorter daylight hours compared to England’s summer. The 1992 World Cup was the first time that colored jerseys were introduced and matches were played with a white ball.

Since the 1992 World Cup, the ODIs have been played in this very format, and the duration of the matches has been constant around 7 to 8 hours. The matches get completed in a single day.

So, by now, you might know how long a 50-over cricket match lasts, but there have been some matches that have been completed in a matter of 2–3 hours. 

Fun fact: The shortest ODI game in terms of the number of balls bowled in a match was played between Nepal and the USA on February 12, 2020. The USA were bundled out for 35 runs in 12 overs, and Nepal took just 5.2 overs to win the match. Only 104 balls were bowled from a total of 600 balls.

Twenty20 (T20) Matches

Twenty20 is the shortest form of the game played at the international level. The matches are played in a 20-over per side format and last around 3 hours. Each innings gets completed in almost 90 minutes, and there is a 10-minute gap between the two innings.

Stuart Robertson, the marketing manager of ECB (England Cricket Board), is regarded as the man who invented this format of the game. The story goes back to 2002 when the Benson & Hedges Cup was completed and the ECB was looking to introduce another one-day competition to bring younger audiences to watch the game and increase the sponsorship.

Robertson proposed the 20-over-per-innings game to bring in the crowd. The move worked for the ECB and the first T20 match at Lord’s attracted a crowd of 27,509 – the highest attendance for a domestic cricket game in over 50 years.

The game slowly grew in popularity, and more regional T20 tournaments started in Pakistan, Australia, and the West Indies. The first-ever T20 International (better known as T20I) match was played between Australia and New Zealand on February 17, 2005, which Australia won by 44 runs. None of the teams took the match very seriously at that time, as it was heavily predicted that the new format wouldn’t survive. New Zealand’s players sported fake moustaches and wigs while taking the field. Glenn McGrath, who was bowling the last over of the game, bowled an underarm delivery, mimicking the infamous Trevor-Chappell incident that happened in 1981.

The first game might have been silly, but the format quickly gained popularity. The first-ever T20 World Cup took place in 2007. India lifted the maiden T20 World Cup trophy. And just like that, another format was born – the massively popular Indian Premier League. Now, almost all major cricket nations have a T20 league of their own. The most popular T20 leagues are India’s IPL, Australia’s BBL, Pakistan’s PSL, and South Africa’s SA20.

The duration of a typical T20 match is a little over 3 hours. However, there have been matches that have been completed in half that time. One such game was played between Mongolia and Singapore on September 5, 2024. Singapore won the toss and elected to bowl. Mongolia’s innings lasted for 10 overs, and they managed to put the same number of runs on the board. Singapore took just five deliveries to win the game by nine wickets. 

Another such match was played between the Isle of Man and Spain back on February 26, 2023. The Isle of Man were bundled out for just 10 runs in 8.4 overs, and Spain took just two deliveries to win this game. The match was completed in just nine overs, which is almost an hour.

T10 Matches

T10 is the shortest format of cricket. The innings contain 10 overs per side and are typically completed in approximately 90 minutes. The first-ever T10 competition took place in December 2017 in the United Arab Emirates and was called Abu Dhabi T10 (also known as the T10 League). 

Here’s a breakdown of how the game is played: 

Batting:

• Each team bats for a maximum of 10 overs.
• There is a 10-minute break between innings.

Bowling:

• Each bowler can bowl a maximum of 2 overs.
• During the first 3 overs (Powerplay), a maximum of 2 fielders can be outside the 30-yard circle.
• After the Powerplay, a minimum of 4 fielders must be inside the fielding circle.
• Only 5 fielders can be on the leg side at any time. 

Just like T20s, several countries have adopted the T10 format as well. There’s the Zim Afro T10 League established by Zimbabwe Cricket, the Lanka T10 League, a domestic tournament in Sri Lanka, the US Masters T10 League, featuring former international players, West Indies’ the 6ixty, and the Indian Street Premier League, a tennis ball T10 tournament.

While there are several domestic leagues, this format is not yet recognized internationally. Some member countries of the ICC (International Cricket Council) have pushed for T10 cricket to be adopted as an officially recognised format. This might get approved if major cricket boards like Australia and India come forward to adopt this format.

The Hundred

The Hundred is a 100-ball competition organised by the ECB in 2021.

A 100-ball match typically finishes in around 2.5 hours. Each innings of a game contains 100 deliveries. Unlike the other formats of cricket, an over in a 100-ball match consists of five deliveries. Typically, a no ball in ODI and T20 means one run, but in a 100-ball game, a no ball means two runs. 

The Hundred is one of the most exciting formats of the game and is aimed at grabbing new eyeballs. 

Factors That Affect Game Duration

Delays are inevitable in every match. Most delays (caused by weather) are not under anyone’s control. However, sometimes players cause intentional delays as a tactical decision.

For example, during the final of the T20 World Cup 2024, Indian batter Rishabh Pant faked a knee injury to halt the proceedings. The result of this move meant South Africa lost their momentum and ultimately lost the match.

A similar thing happened during a match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the same tournament. The moment Bangladesh fell behind in their score, Afghanistan’s head coach signalled the players to intentionally slow down the game. Afghanistan’s all-rounder pretended to get a cramp in his leg after this and was helped off the field. It started raining soon after, and the match had to be stopped.

Breaks like this mean that extra time gets added, and the duration of a game gets increased. Drink breaks and innings breaks, if extended beyond the stipulated time, also make a cricket match longer.

Another factor that typically increases the duration of the game is the speed at which a bowler completes an over. When bowlers have a slow over rate (time taken to complete an over), the extra time is added to the total duration of the game. In case a bowler bowls a lot of extras like wides and no-balls, it also gets added to the time of the match.

Weather, specifically rain, plays a huge role in the duration of the game. Unlike other sports, a cricket match typically does not take place in case of rain. A match can only be started when the weather is clear and the pitch dries up. When this happens, the match duration gets shortened. For example, the first team batted and completed 50 overs, but rain caused a delay of one hour for the other team. In this case, match umpires use the Duckworth-Lewis system (DLS) to shorten the overs and adjust the score target accordingly.

Light also plays a huge role in day-night matches. An umpire may choose to halt the match due to poor lighting conditions. Again, the DLS applies here, and scores get adjusted.

Then there’s the Decision Review System (DRS) that adds to the stoppage time. The captain of the bowling team or the player on strike can challenge a decision made by the on-field umpire by asking for a DRS. The decision is referred to the third umpire, who sits in a studio watching multiple cameras. The third umpire takes time to review the ball from various angles to judge whether the on-field decision was correct or not.

A tie is another factor that increases the duration of a cricket match. In case a T20I or an ODI game ends in a tie, a “super over” takes place. It means that both teams get an over of six legitimate deliveries to score runs. The team that scores the most runs in a super over wins the game. In case one super over gets tied, another super over takes place till the time a clear winner emerges.

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