Basically up to World War II all cricket tests were timeless. So basically the game would go until one team dismissed the other twice while scoring more runs.
The match mentioned here refers to the Timeless Test played between England and South Africa in the latter in 1939. It seems a combination rainfall and rolling the pitch (i.e. playing surface) rejuvenated the pitch, making it relatively easy to bat on. Combined with some patient batting, this enabled the teams to run up some large scores. Typically the pitch starts to deteriorate after several days play, making it more difficult to bat on.
The match mentioned here refers to the Timeless Test played between England and South Africa in the latter in 1939. It seems a combination rainfall and rolling the pitch (i.e. playing surface) rejuvenated the pitch, making it relatively easy to bat on. Combined with some patient batting, this enabled the teams to run up some large scores. Typically the pitch starts to deteriorate after several days play, making it more difficult to bat on.