ECB and ICC decide on revised timings for third England-Pakistan Test

The third and final Test between England and Pakistan beginning Friday will see revised play times to make up for poor weather conditions, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Thursday. The ECB, ICC and other stakeholders came to this conclusion after rain, and bad light made just 134.3 overs possible throughout the five days of the second Test.

It was decided that play can begin 30 minutes before the scheduled 11 a.m. local time start, Day 2 onwards.

"The flexible approach will enable the prospect of making up time for inclement weather during the morning session of subsequent days rather than at the end of the day," the ECB said in a statement.

The match officials will continuously be monitoring the light to stretch the playing time, as long as it would be safe to do so. The match referee, ground staff and the ECB Match Manager will meet after the end of Day 1 to discuss the start time for the next day.

Extra 8 overs to be played in a day: ECB

England v Pakistan: Day 4 - Second Test #RaiseTheBat Series

Regarding this, the ECB added:

“If the forecast looks good in the morning, it will be an option to commence play at 10.30am and that final decision will be made by the ICC Match Referee, Chris Board.”

If the timings are indeed amended, the morning session will stretch to two and a half hours to play 98 overs in a day. The scheduled close of play would be 6 p.m. local time, while the cut off time would be an hour later if bad weather suspends play during the day.

England will go into the third Test with a 1-0 lead after winning the first match by three wickets.