Hours of play altered for Cheltenham Cricket Festival

Day one of Gloucestershire's County Championship clash against Hampshire has been shortened by 90 minutes due to the expected extreme temperatures

The hours of play for the Cheltenham Cricket Festival have been altered in order to protect spectators from the expected extreme temperatures.

Day one of Gloucestershire's LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Hampshire, which will take place on July 19, has been shortened by 90 minutes.

Play will begin at 11am and will be followed by three 90-minute sessions. Lunch and tea intervals will remain as 40 minutes and 20 minutes, respectively, with play finishing at 4:30pm.

To make up for the lost time, days two, three and four will have an extra 30 minutes added. The morning and afternoon sessions will last 2hr 15 mins while the evening session will be two hours.

Temperatures are expected to peak at around 36 degrees Celsius in Cheltenham on Tuesday, with the Met Office issuing an amber warning for heat, before dropping down to the mid-20s from Wednesday.

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