The first time I went to Lords I wondered why the weather vane was forged as Old Father Time. The grim reaper did not seem an obvious motif for a sporting venue. Now I know better: for cricket’s complex relationship with Time makes it the great game that it is.
Many sports are played to a time limit and some have a set number of goes: cricket magnificently uses both methods to produce its array of marvellous contests.
If you are following a test match click the image below to find the current time at the ground.
The Cricket Time Equation:
5(Days of Drama) = 1( Great Test Match)
We who love Test Match Cricket experience the full drama of an unfolding day when we watch or hear a game.
The drama starts early with optimistic speculation as the dew dries off the ground. The mid-morning sees batsmen and bowlers asserting their rights at the crease while our stomachs dream of lunch.
The sluggish afternoon plays out for the winning side with hopes of reviving tea.
But the waft of the early evening breeze across the ground awakens us to fresh dramas as the spinners and seamers find their magic or refreshed big hitters send the weary fielders lolloping to the boundary.
Five days sounds such a long time for a game, but the most memorable matches finish with a run chase against the clock on the fifth day or a war of attrition to make it a draw. The Test becomes a mirror for human endeavour as the long awaited deadline produces heroic surges of determination.
The old clock above the pavilion steps is the bowler’s friend and the batsman’s enemy or is it the other way round? My friends, it depends on the match!
External links
For International Fixtures see cricinfo
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/index.html?view=calendar
The saddest time of the year: the scoreboard after the last innings of the season.
Cricket Test Grounds and Locations
Cricket grounds change their names and usage frequently, so please beware that the following information may not be up to date. We are grateful for contributions to make it more accurate.
| Australia | |
| Adelaide Oval | Adelaide |
| Bellerive Oval | Hobart |
| Brisbane Cricket Ground / The Gabba | Brisbane |
| Melbourne Cricket Ground / MCG | Melbourne |
| Sydney Cricket Ground / SCG | Sydney |
| Western Australia Cricket Association Ground / The WACA | Perth |
Bangladesh | |
Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium/ Narayanganj Osmani Stadium | Fatullah |
| Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium | Khulna |
Shere-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium | Mirpur |
| Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium | Chittagong |
England | |
| Ageas Bowl / The Rose Bowl | Southampton |
County Cricket Ground/Edgbaston | Birmingham |
Emirates, Durham / Chester-le-Street | Chester-le-Street |
| Headingly Cricket Ground | Leeds |
| Lords Cricket Ground | London |
| KIA Oval | London |
| Emirates Old Trafford | Manchester |
| SWALEC Stadium | Cardiff |
| Trent Bridge | Nottingham |
India | |
| Eden Gardens | Kolcata |
| Feroz Shah Kotla Ground | Delhi |
| M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | Bangalore |
| M. A. Chidambaram Stadium | Chennai |
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium | Mohali |
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium | Hyderabad |
| Wankhede Stadium | Mumbai |
| Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium | Nagpur |
New Zealand | |
| Basin Reserve | Wellington |
| Eden Park | Auckland |
| Hagley Oval | Christchurch |
| Seddon Park | Hamilton |
| University Oval | Dunedin |
Pakistan Home Grounds In United Arab Emirates | |
| Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium | Abu Dhabi |
| Dubai International Cricket Stadium | Dubai |
| Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium | Sharjah |
Pakistan | |
| Niaz Stadium | Hyderabad |
| National Stadium | Karachi |
| Gaddafi Stadium | Lahore |
| Multan Cricket Stadium | Multan |
| Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium | Rawalpindi |
South Africa | |
| Axxess DSL / St. Georges Park | Port Elizabeth |
| Kingsmead / Sahara Stadium | Durban |
| New Wanderers Stadium | Johannesburg |
| Newlands / Sahara Park | Cape Town |
| Supersport Stadium / Centurion Park | Centurion |
Sri Lanka | |
| Galle International Stadium | Galle |
P. Sara Oval / P. Saravanamuttu Stadium | Colombo |
| Pallekele International Cricket Stadium | Kandy |
R. Premadasa Stadium / Ranasinghe Premadasa Stadium | Colombo |
| Sinhalese Sports Club Ground | Colombo |
West Indies | |
| Antigua Recreation Ground | St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda |
| Beausejour | Gros Islet, St. Lucia |
| Kensington Oval | Bridgetown, Barbados |
| National Cricket Stadium | St. Georges, Greneda |
| The Playing Fields / Arnos Vale | Kingstown, St. Vincent |
| Providence Stadium | Providence, Guyana |
| Queens Park Oval | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Sabina Park | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Sir Vivian Richards Stadium | North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda |
| Warner Park | Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis |
| Windsor Park | Roseau, Dominica |
| Zimbabwe | |
| Harare Sports Club | Harare |
| Queens Sports Club | Bulawayo |
Clocks and Time Tools
Our creative collection
What time is it?