Can anyone explain these hours of play?

[Lillian Thomson]

I was indulging in my favourite pastime of looking back at England's Test Cricket Series in the 70's and found something I quite understand. I was reading the rules and regulations for the summer of 1973 against New Zealand and the West Indies and the hours of play were as follows;

Start - 11:30am
Lunch - 01:30pm - 02:10pm
Tea - 04:15pm - 04:35pm
Stumps 06:30pm

This rather curiously leaves the middle session as 2 hours 5 minutes and the final session as 1 hour 55 minutes. Why the slight imbalance? Why not just three 2 hour sessions?

 

[silentstriker]

It wouldn't be cricket if not for the idiosyncrasies.

 

[adharcric]

Food provides more energy than tea.

 

[Xuhaib]

Food provides more energy than tea.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Food provides more energy than tea.

Thank you Reginald Butler.

 

[archie mac]

Maybe the 1974 Wisden will tell us, I will have a look when I return home from work

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Maybe the 1974 Wisden will tell us, I will have a look when I return home from work

Are you home yet?

 

[fredfertang]

I don't know what the answer is but no doubt tradition is behind it - two thoughts

i) In days of yore lunch was 45 minutes

ii) and I dont know when this stopped, there used to be a lot of meeting monarchs etc going on just after the lunch breaks

 

[archie mac]

Are you home yet?

Just made it!

Will check it out right now

 

[archie mac]

No mention in Wisden (that I could find), although I was surprised by the amount of FC matches NZ and the WI played

I also had a look in Seasons Past, which has different writers keeping a diary of different years in English cricket. For 1973 it was Mike Brearley but alas he makes no mention of it. Although he does think a young Oxford player was a good prospect, his name: Imran Khan

I read this book many years ago, I remember the diaries of Alan Gibson being the best, although they were all quite good- Arlott, Lewis and Roebuck being the others

 

[stumpski]

I can remember Tests starting at 11.30 in England, they did that until around 1980 I think (may have been the same for the Championship). I'd forgotten the curious session durations though.