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How Long Does a Cricket Match Last? Tests, ODIs and T20s in Hours

How long cricket matches last under the ICC's October 2026 rules: six-hour Test days, 7.5-hour ODIs, three-hour T20Is, and what shortens or stretches them.

By Published 3 min read

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Key takeaways

  • A Test is scheduled for five days of six hours' play, with at least 90 overs a day except the last.
  • An ODI is scheduled as two 3.5-hour innings with a 30-minute break: about seven and a half hours.
  • A T20I is two sessions of 1 hour 25 minutes with a 15-minute interval: just over three hours.
  • The ICC's minimum over rates are 15 an hour in Tests, 14.28 in ODIs and 14.11 in T20Is, which line up with the scheduled session lengths.
  • Matches can end early when a side is bowled out or a target is reached, and run late through overtime, rain and reserve days.

"How long is a cricket match?" has three very different answers. A T20 international is scheduled for just over three hours, a one-day international for about seven and a half, and a Test for up to five days. The ICC's men's playing conditions, effective October 2026, fix the scheduled hours and the minimum over rates behind each, and they explain why the clock matters so much.

The scheduled length of each format

Format Scheduled playing time Interval between innings Typical total
Test Five days, six hours of play a day Lunch (40 minutes) and tea (20 minutes); 10 minutes between innings Up to five days
Four-day Test Four days, six and a half hours a day Lunch (40 minutes) and tea (20 minutes); 10 minutes between innings Up to four days
ODI Two sessions of 3.5 hours 30 minutes About 7.5 hours
T20I Two sessions of 1 hour 25 minutes 15 minutes, reducible to 10 About 3 hours 5 minutes

How the over rates fit the sessions

The session lengths line up with the minimum over rates in the playing conditions:

Format Minimum over rate Overs Time
Test 15 overs an hour 90 a day 6 hours
ODI 14.28 overs an hour 50 an innings About 3.5 hours (50 ÷ 14.28 = 3.50)
T20I 14.11 overs an hour 20 an innings About 85 minutes (20 ÷ 14.11 × 60 = 85.0)

The four-day Test conditions ask for at least 98 overs in six and a half hours, slightly faster than 15 an hour.

The rates include allowances. The T20I conditions, for example, give time back for injuries treated on the field, third-umpire referrals and reviews, time-wasting by the batting side and a drinks break of 2 minutes 30 seconds in each innings, plus an extra minute for each of the sixth to ninth wickets. The current over rate is displayed on the scoreboard, updated at least every four overs.

A Test day in detail

On every day except the last, play continues until at least 90 overs have been bowled or the scheduled finish is reached, whichever is later, with up to 30 minutes of overtime. Overs still not bowled are not made up on later days.

Lost time is recovered in two ways: on the day, by extending play by up to an hour, and on later days, by adding up to 30 minutes a day. The last day has its own pattern: at least 75 overs before the final hour, and at least 15 in it. How a Test match ends in a draw explains why that last hour matters.

Why matches finish early

Scheduled time is a maximum, not a promise. Matches end as soon as a result is reached:

  • In a limited-overs match, the side batting first can be bowled out early, and a chasing side can pass its target with overs to spare.
  • In a Test, a side that wins by an innings needs only three innings, and the follow-on can speed that up.

A worked example. In a T20I, the team batting first is all out after 16 overs, and the chasing team wins in 14.3 overs. Only 30.3 of the 40 scheduled overs are bowled; at the minimum rate of 14.11 an hour, the missing 9.3 overs are worth about 40 minutes, so the match finishes that much early.

Why matches run late

  • Slow over rates. Play continues until the overs are bowled; the ICC's sanctions for slow rates include, in the World Test Championship, a deduction of one competition point per over short.
  • Rain. In limited-overs matches, overs are cut at the over rate when time is lost, and targets are reset by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method; shortened innings also shrink the powerplays.
  • Reserve days. ODI and T20I series may agree a reserve day for an incomplete match. The playing conditions say every effort must first be made to finish on the scheduled day, reducing overs if necessary; the match moves to the reserve day only if the minimum overs needed for a result cannot be bowled, and a match that had already started resumes as though the last ball had just been played.
  • Super Overs. A tied ODI or T20I is followed by a Super Over, normally starting five minutes after the match ends, with extra time set aside to complete it.

Test versus ODI versus T20 covers the rest of what separates the formats. A long match is a test of stamina as much as skill; in Cricket Sport Career Simulator, one of our sports career games, energy, morale and momentum are part of how your cricketer's performances play out.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

How long does a Test match last?
Up to five days. The ICC's Test playing conditions schedule six hours of play a day, with at least 90 overs on each day except the last, and allow up to 30 minutes of overtime to complete the overs. A Test ends sooner if a side wins before the time is up.
How long is an ODI in hours?
About seven and a half hours. The ICC's ODI playing conditions schedule two sessions of 3.5 hours each, one per innings, separated by a 30-minute interval.
How long is a T20 international?
Just over three hours. The ICC's T20I playing conditions schedule two sessions of 1 hour 25 minutes, separated by a 15-minute interval between innings, which can be cut to 10 minutes after delays.
Why do some matches finish early?
Because the result arrives first. A side can be bowled out before its overs are used, or a chasing side can pass its target. In Tests, a win can come on any day once one side has been bowled out often enough.

Sources

  1. ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions, October 2026 (opens in a new tab)International Cricket Council — accessed
  2. ICC Men's ODI Playing Conditions, October 2026 (opens in a new tab)International Cricket Council — accessed
  3. ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions, October 2026 (opens in a new tab)International Cricket Council — accessed
  4. ICC Men's Four-Day Test Playing Conditions, October 2026 (opens in a new tab)International Cricket Council — accessed

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