Why is cricket delayed today: England vs New Zealand start time Day 5 at Headingley

England vs New Zealand start time: The final day of the third Test match has been interrupted by rain at Headingley.

While the first hour of any Test match day is crucial for it can set the tone for the remaining five hours of play, the first hour of the final day of a Test holds even more importance due to its possibility of generating or even inching closer to a result.

With the first hour of the fifth day of the third Test match between England and New Zealand being washed out due to rain in Leeds, players and fans continue to wait for the weather to clear and allow play to happen on a day when Yorkshire County Cricket Club have organized free entry for fans.

Originally scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM (local time), the day’s play was delayed by an hour to begin at 12:00 PM. Having said that, rain started to pour down over Headingley just minutes before the start to further force the players to remain indoors.

According to today’s weather forecast in Leeds, rain is predicted to fall pretty much throughout the day. However, the rain probability will continue to decrease as the day progresses.

England, who need another 113 runs with eight wickets in hand to win the match, have enough inspiration with them from their recent heroic effort to seal a chase or at least attempt one even if a session of play happens on Monday.

England vs New Zealand start time Day 5 at Headingley

Readers must note that an early lunch has been called for at Headingley today. Hence, players will break for lunch at 12:30 PM.

A lunch break lasts for 40 minutes in the general run of things. That said, it is possible for umpires to reduce the length of the lunch interval especially if rain stops completely and there’s a possibility of restarting play.

While exact start time of play is difficult to predict at this point in time, one thing which is sure is that no play will happen till 01:00 PM today.

UPDATE: Play will begin at 01:30 PM.