In One Day International (ODI) cricket, a drinks break is usually up to about 5 minutes long.

The basic rule

  • There are typically two official drinks breaks allowed per innings in an ODI.
  • Playing conditions state that these drinks breaks should be as short as possible and must not exceed approximately 5 minutes.
  • They are generally scheduled about 1 hour 10 minutes apart in an uninterrupted session, which often lines up roughly with around the 15–17th over and then around the 30–32nd over, depending on over rates.

Extra drinks in special conditions

  • In extreme heat , umpires can allow additional, shorter drinks intervals to protect player welfare, but these are still kept brief to avoid wasting playing time.
  • Individual players can also be given a quick drink at the boundary edge or at the fall of a wicket, provided no time is wasted and umpires are satisfied play isn’t being delayed.

Quick example

Imagine a day–night ODI starting at 2:00 PM:

  • First drinks break: around 3:10 PM, lasting up to about 5 minutes.
  • Second drinks break: around 4:20 PM, again up to about 5 minutes, assuming normal over rates and no long interruptions.

So if you’re timing a match at home, you can think of an ODI drinks break as a short pause of roughly 5 minutes max , twice per innings, unless special conditions force minor adjustments.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.