Lunch Time In Test Cricket: Interesting Facts, Break Duration, Menu And Rules Explained In Detail

Test cricket, the oldest format of the game, is played over five days and each day has three sessions separated by Lunch and Tea breaks. Lunch time in Test cricket, as the name suggests, is a tradition where cricketers break for 40 minutes to enjoy hearty meals after toiling hard for two hours in the morning session.

In some cases, an early lunch, by a margin of a few minutes, is taken in case of a fall of wicket or a any other type of delay on the field. This is to save match time, which would otherwise be affected by the said delay.

England, inventors of cricket, designed a typical day of Test cricket to match the day spent in the manor house. The gentleman’s game was played by the then gentlemen of Royal Upper Class comprising Lords, Dukes and Princes. Hence, lunch and tea breaks were a necessary means to add leisure to their day while playing.

Very soon, as the game evolved and spread outside the borders of England and into other Commonwealth Nations, lunch and tea breaks became a staple.

A regular uninterrupted day of Test cricket follows the below mentioned schedule. Readers must note that the start time of a day’s play varies as per the host country.

Start of Play – 10:00 AM

First Session – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Lunch – 12:00 PM to 12:40 PM

Second Session – 12:40 PM to 02:40 PM

Tea – 02:40 PM to 3:00 PM

Third session – 03:00 PM to 05:00 PM

Extra time – 05:00 PM to 05:30 PM

Interesting Facts About Lunch Time In Test Cricket

Although all the players have to return back to the dining room during Lunch time to get their nutrition intake intact to continue through the rest of the day, there have been exceptions in the past.

During the course of a marathon 302 (559) against India almost a decade ago, former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum had skipped lunch for two successive days, as revealed by former New Zealand strength and conditioning coach Chris Donaldson in an interview with ESPNcricinfo in 2017.

On the brink of winning a Test match in Wellington after 46 years in a bid to prevent a series loss, India had lost the battle to McCullum’s presence in the middle for as many as 182.3 overs. Interestingly, in order to focus and immerse completely into the game by remaining in his “zone”, the swashbuckling batter made the ultimate sacrifice of not eating anything during lunch time.

This is in stark contrast to an upset and heartbroken England wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow skipping lunch on the final Test of the second Ashes 2023 Test because of his dismissal at the Lord’s.

When Australia had toured Pakistan after 24 years last year, lunch options for them were drastically different to what they were accustomed to having at home. Batter Marnus Labuschagne, in particular, shared a pleasant response on social media platform Twitter (currently X).

On the contrary, when England visited Pakistan right before Australia, they weren’t entirely comfortable with the lunch options available in the country. As a result, had to carry along their own chefs.

Smriti Mandhana, India Women’s vice-captain, once openly expressed her dislike for the Lord’s lunch menu. As a vegetarian, she had had enough of boiled potatoes in the absence of variety.

Lunch Break Menu In Test Cricket

Throughout the 1900s, cricketers would eat very sumptuous meals like sandwiches, pork pies, and cakes. As time went by leading right into the 21st century, packaged foods, cheese, baked beans, chocolate, and cookies founded normalcy in a cricketer’s life. It is only in the last decade or so that all the teams have shifted towards concentrating on nutrition spearheaded by the demands of international sport.

Cricket is an extremely competitive game today, and no one wants their athletic skills to become a barrier to selection. This is where the maintenance of a strict diet by a nutritionist gets involved.

Today, lean meat proteins like chicken and fish are commonly consumed by players. Other food items like potato wedges, pulses and an assortment of vegetables have become a must to maintain the required physique. Ice cream, though, despite its sugar content, is regularly served after the meal. It is the sort of a comfort food cricketers crave after a strictly healthy meal.

Below mentioned are some of the Lunch Menus across stadiums and countries.

Lord’s, London – Carrot and Coriander Soup, Freshly Baked Bread Rolls, Lamb Rack, Baked Sea Bream, Chicken and Vegetable Ravioli, Seven Vegetable Curry, etc.

Centurion, South Africa – Broccoli Soup, Chicken Chettinad, Lamb Chops and Pepper Salad, Paneer Tikka, Vegetable Kadai, etc.

Eden Gardens, Kolkata – Chitpur’s Chaanp, Railway Mutton Curry, Clay Pot Greens, Kung Pao Chicken, Water Chestnuts, Glass Noodles, etc.

It is to be noted that the lunch break menu is subject to change as per the teams playing and the prevailing season of the year.