Why do cricket seasons start so early?

[ataraxia]

Now to be clear this is not your average "wahhh it's raining and cold and they're playing pro cricket" – instead, I'm wondering why cricket seasons tend to be centred about the earlier end of the summary. So I'm no meteorologist, that's why this is not just a rant but also a query, but here's some random climate info anyway:

In England, October tends to be 1 degree hotter than April. Yet April is almost completely chocker with cricket, and October does not get a game. It looks like it rains significantly more in October than April however – makes sense as the latter is closer to June. As rain is the biggest enemy of cricket, I suppose this makes sense.

In New Zealand, outside the centre of all gutless officials in Christchurch, April looks to be slightly warmer than November. With more rain, yes, but less than October. October generally hosts two weeks of Plunket; April none.

Australia looks to tend to be warmer than Aotearoa, but much much colder obvs. Their season begins in late September and ends late March.

Is there really a good reason for this? In my opinion it's approximately today that should be the end of the Antipodean summer and beginning of the English one, but that's not the case is it. Very important, I know.

 

[Burgey]

October is football season.

 

[ataraxia]

October is football season.

and why

 

[Adders]

Daylight savings probably factor in there.

 

[Burgey]

Football is easily the most popular sport in the UK I guess, so cricket probably doesn't want its finals competing with it for space, though tbf it's always been the way I guess, even before TV.

I guess with the UK, it's a question of which miserable season you choose to play in. At least in April it's getting what passes for warmer there as the month goes on, instead of getting colder and darker.

 

[social]

Yeah, it’s related to the football season in Australia

Sporting codes generally share the same grounds with cricket running from late September to March with a few weeks required on either side to prepare the pitch/ground

 

[social]

As you say, England is a strange one as September/October often having some nicer weather than early April

I played a game in Durham where it snowed overnight in April and the only justification given as to why the game wasn’t cancelled was that it was cricket season

 

[Smudge]

Yeah, it’s related to the football season in Australia

Sporting codes generally share the same grounds with cricket running from late September to March with a few weeks required on either side to prepare the pitch/ground

Likewise in NZ - club rugby gets underway in mid-to-late March, depending on the area. In smaller areas, there are only so many cricketers going around, and plenty of them will be into their winter codes.

 

[mackembhoy]

Now to be clear this is not your average "wahhh it's raining and cold and they're playing pro cricket" – instead, I'm wondering why cricket seasons tend to be centred about the earlier end of the summary. So I'm no meteorologist, that's why this is not just a rant but also a query, but here's some random climate info anyway:

In England, October tends to be 1 degree hotter than April. Yet April is almost completely chocker with cricket, and October does not get a game. It looks like it rains significantly more in October than April however – makes sense as the latter is closer to June. As rain is the biggest enemy of cricket, I suppose this makes sense.

In New Zealand, outside the centre of all gutless officials in Christchurch, April looks to be slightly warmer than November. With more rain, yes, but less than October. October generally hosts two weeks of Plunket; April none.

Australia looks to tend to be warmer than Aotearoa, but much much colder obvs. Their season begins in late September and ends late March.

Is there really a good reason for this? In my opinion it's approximately today that should be the end of the Antipodean summer and beginning of the English one, but that's not the case is it. Very important, I know.

The weekend just gone was lovely for Northumberland.

The local leagues inexplicably moved the start of season relatively last minute to this weekend and it's set to absolutely chuck it down.

October was pretty nice last year but as Burgey says will probably be because of the football. Although I don't know the reason why.

 

[Molehill]

Football is easily the most popular sport in the UK I guess, so cricket probably doesn't want its finals competing with it for space, though tbf it's always been the way I guess, even before TV.

I guess with the UK, it's a question of which miserable season you choose to play in. At least in April it's getting what passes for warmer there as the month goes on, instead of getting colder and darker.

You could argue there's far more focus on football in April than October as the season comes to an end and teams are fighting for trophies/relegation etc. We're having a rubbish April at the mo too, it's cold, damp and definitely nowhere near cricket weather.

I think your last point probably sums it up though, you wouldn't want a County Championship decider happening in October.

 

[social]

Likewise in NZ - club rugby gets underway in mid-to-late March, depending on the area. In smaller areas, there are only so many cricketers going around, and plenty of them will be into their winter codes.

Local ground is owned by Council and Aussie Rules & Cricket are joint tenants

They get 6 months each and respective competitions finish before handover

Clubs hate each other so won’t cop delays

 

[Chin Music]

Daylight savings probably factor in there.

The clocks don't change until the end of the month but the reality is that it is a lot darker across the month in October than it is April with sunset comfortably before 6:30pm even at the start of the month and sunrise not much before 7am. September games start at 10:30 but the due factor is significant in county cricket at that time of year. April games there is more than enough light come 6:30pm even if you have an extra half hour because of stoppages.

 

[Molehill]

The clocks don't change until the end of the month but the reality is that it is a lot darker across the month in October than it is April with sunset comfortably before 6:30pm even at the start of the month and sunrise not much before 7am. September games start at 10:30 but the due factor is significant in county cricket at that time of year. April games there is more than enough light come 6:30pm even if you have an extra half hour because of stoppages.

And yet we play Test Cricket in some parts of the world where they're off for light before 5.30pm.

 

[The Hutt Rec]

All the NZ players leave for IPL halfway through March, so they can't play any decent internationals after that point anyway.

 

[Chin Music]

And yet we play Test Cricket in some parts of the world where they're off for light before 5.30pm.

In India they start their tests at 9:30am their time and are supposed to finish by 4:30 or 5pm with the extra half hour. I think it is similar in Sri Lanka. Pakistan is probably worse because it is far to the North in many cases. You wouldn't want to play a test there now because it is too hot, even though there is markedly more light than in December when England went there.

 

[Ali TT]

Today is 18th April. Picking Nottingham as a central point in England, sunrise is 0600 and sunset is 2009.

12th October those times are 0725 and 1817.

 

[Prince EWS]

wahhh it's raining and cold and they're playing pro cricket

 

[Immenso]

Likewise in NZ - club rugby gets underway in mid-to-late March, depending on the area. In smaller areas, there are only so many cricketers going around, and plenty of them will be into their winter codes.

And that span of the club rugby season is probably, historically, in that timeline because of farming seasons. Avoiding busy spring for livestock farmers and farm workers. So, the more popular code set the season spans about 120 years ago - when shedloads % of the workforce was employed in the agriculture sector.