Old Trafford schedule playing times including coin toss and lunch break as Ashes comes to Manchester

The Fourth LV= Insurance Men’s Ashes Test takes place in Manchester this week, and the city will be bustling with thousands of cricket fans. The match gets underway on Wednesday July 19. 

Old Trafford will become a bustling hive of activity for the coming days, with thousands set to attend the match which will finish at the latest on Sunday July 23. The times of when play starts and finishes will be of interest to fans in the ground and people going around the rest of the city. 

Ahead of the start of the Old Trafford Ashes Test, we’ve got the key dates and timings for the match. This includes the coin toss which will decide who bats and bowls first between England and Australia. 

The Ashes Test at Old Trafford will last for at the most five days. Starting on July 19, it will conclude no later than this coming Sunday. 

Key times in Fourth LV= Insurance Men’s Ashes Test at Old Trafford

The first big moment of the match will be the coin toss. This will take place between England captain Ben Stokes and Australian skipper Pat Cummins. The winner of this will decide if they want to bat or bowl first and this will take place at around 10.30am. 

Half an hour later, at 11am, play will get underway. Both teams will come out a few minutes proper to this and sing the national anthems of England and Australia. 

The first break on each day will be the lunch interval. This is pencilled in for 1pm each day, although if there are any delays to play this could change. The break is 40 minutes long. 

The afternoon session will also be 2 hours long. The tea break will then take place from 3.40pm until 4pm. 

Both sides will return to the pitch for the evening session which is likely to go on until around 6.30pm depending on how many overs have been bowled in the day. 

This schedule will be the same for each of the 5 days of play. This is of course subject to change. 

For those who need to drive near and around Old Trafford, you’ll find the busiest times on the roads will be the 2 hours before play starts and most likely around an hour after the close of play.