Twenty20

Origins

A few years prior to the introduction of the current T20 match format, a different form of 20 overs per side cricket known as Cricket Max was played both domestically and on an unofficial home international basis in New Zealand from 1996 to 2002.^[3] The format differed from current Twenty20 cricket as each team had two separate innings of 10 overs each, and a number of other rules innovations. The only one that would be utilised in Twenty20 cricket (as well as other limited-overs cricket) was a free-hit for no-balls.^[4][5][6]

When the Benson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002 owing, in response to dwindling attendances at longer format matches such as those in the County Championship, the ECB sought another one-day competition to appeal to a younger demographic. The Board wanted to deliver fast-paced, exciting cricket accessible to fans who were put off by the longer versions of the game.^[7] Stuart Robertson, (Marketing Manager of the ECB), Kevin Allton (ECB New Media Marketing Manager), Joe Bruce (Sponsorship Manager) and Richard Kaye (Sales Manager) proposed a 20-over-per-innings game, invented by New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe, to county chairmen in 2001, and they voted 11–7 in favour of adopting the new format.^[8]

The first official Twenty20 matches were played on 13 June 2003 between the English counties in the Twenty20 Cup.^[9] The first season of Twenty20 in England was a relative success, with the Surrey Lions defeating the Warwickshire Bears by nine wickets in the final to claim the title.^[10] The first Twenty20 match held at Lord's, on 15 July 2004 between Middlesex and Surrey, attracted a crowd of 27,509, the highest attendance for any county cricket game at the ground – other than a one-day final – since 1953.^[11]

Worldwide spread

Thirteen teams from different parts of the country participated in Pakistan's inaugural competition in 2004, with the Faisalabad Wolves the first winners. On 12 January 2005 Australia's first Twenty20 game was played at the WACA Ground between the Western Warriors and the Victorian Bushrangers. It drew a sell-out crowd of 20,000, which was the first one in nearly 25 years.^[12]

Starting on 11 July 2006, 19 West Indies regional teams competed in what was named the Stanford 20/20 tournament. The event was financially backed by billionaire Allen Stanford, who gave at least US$28 million in funding money. It was intended that the tournament would be an annual event. Guyana won the inaugural event, defeating Trinidad and Tobago by five wickets, securing US$1 million in prize money.^[13][14]

On 5 January 2007 the Queensland Bulls played the New South Wales Blues at The Gabba, Brisbane. An unexpected 16,000 fans turned up on the day to buy tickets, causing Gabba staff to throw open gates and grant many fans free entry. Attendance reached 27,653.^[15] For the February 2008 Twenty20 match between Australia and India, 85,824 people attended the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, involving the Twenty20 World Champions^[16] against the ODI World Champions.^[17]

The Stanford Super Series was held in October 2008 between the three teams. The respective winners of the English and Caribbean Twenty20 competitions, Middlesex and Trinidad and Tobago, and a Stanford Superstars team formed from West Indies domestic players. Trinidad and Tobago won the competition, securing US$280,000 prize money.^[18][19] On 1 November, the Stanford Superstars played England in what was expected to be the first of five fixtures in as many years with the winner claiming US$20 million in each match. The Stanford Superstars won the first match,^[20] but no further fixtures were held as Allen Stanford was charged with fraud in 2009.^[21]

T20 leagues

Several T20 leagues started after the popularity of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.^[22] The Board of Control for Cricket in India started the Indian Premier League popularly known as IPL, which is now the largest cricket league, in 2008, which utilizes the North American sports franchise system with ten teams in major Indian cities. In September 2017, the broadcasting and digital rights for the next five years (2018–2022) of the IPL^[23] were sold to Star India for US$2.55 billion,^[24] making it one of the world's most lucrative sports league per match. The IPL has seen a spike in its brand valuation to US$5.3 billion after the 10th edition, according to global valuation and corporate finance advisor Duff & Phelps.^[25]

The Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Premier League, and Afghanistan Premier League started thereafter, following similar formulae, and remained popular with the fans.^[26][27] The Women's Big Bash League was started in 2015 by Cricket Australia, while the Kia Super League was started in England and Wales in 2016. The Mzansi Super League in South Africa was started in 2018. Global Cricket League was started in 2026 by USA cricket to promote cricket nationwide.^[28]

Several T20 leagues^[29] follow the general format of having a group stage followed by a Page playoff system among the top four teams where:

• The first- and second-highest placed teams in the group stage face off, with the winner going to the final.
• The third- and fourth-place teams face off, with the loser being eliminated.
• The two teams who have not yet made it to the final after the above two matches have been played face off to fill the second berth in the final.

In the Big Bash League, there was an additional match to determine which of the fourth- or fifth-placed teams will qualify to be in the top four, Until the 2022/23 season.^[30]

Twenty20 Internationals

The first Twenty20 International match was held on 5 August 2004 between the England and New Zealand women's teams, with New Zealand winning by nine runs.^[31]

On 17 February 2005 Australia defeated New Zealand in the first men's international Twenty20 match, played at Eden Park in Auckland. The game was played in a light-hearted manner – both sides turned out in kit similar to that worn in the 1980s, the New Zealand team's a direct copy of that worn by the Beige Brigade. Some of the players also sported moustaches or beards and hairstyles popular in the 1980s, taking part in a competition amongst themselves for "best retro look", at the request of the Beige Brigade. Australia won the game comprehensively, and as the result became obvious towards the end of the NZ innings, the players and umpires took things less seriously: Glenn McGrath jokingly replayed the Trevor Chappell underarm incident from a 1981 ODI between the two sides, and Billy Bowden showed him a mock red card (red cards are not normally used in cricket) in response.^{[citation needed]}

On 16 February 2006 New Zealand defeated West Indies in a tie-breaking bowl-out 3–0; 126 runs were scored apiece in the game proper.^{[citation needed]}

The ICC has declared that it sees T20 as the optimal format for globalizing the game,^[32] and in 2018, announced that it will give international status to all T20 cricket matches played between its member nations.^[33] This resulted in a significant leap in the number of T20I matches played across the world.^[34][35]

Impact on the game

Twenty20 cricket is claimed to have resulted in a more athletic and explosive form of cricket. Indian fitness coach Ramji Srinivasan declared in an interview with the Indian fitness website Takath.com that Twenty20 had "raised the bar" in terms of fitness levels for all players, demanding higher levels of strength, speed, agility and reaction time from all players regardless of role in the team.^[38] Matthew Hayden credited retirement from international cricket with aiding his performance in general and fitness in particular in the Indian Premier League.^[39]

Several commentators have noted that the T20 format has been embraced by many Associate Members of the ICC partly because it is more financially viable to play.^[40][32] T20's success has also inspired the invention of even shorter formats, such as T10 cricket and 100-ball cricket,^[41] and its impact on cricket has been compared to or served as inspiration for innovations in other sports, such as with the 3x3 variant of basketball or the Indian Pro Kabaddi League.^[42]

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, on the other hand, has criticised Twenty20 as being detrimental to Test cricket and for hampering batsmen's scoring skills and concentration.^[43] Former Australian captain Greg Chappell made similar complaints, fearing that young players would play too much T20 and not develop their batting skills fully, while former England player Alex Tudor feared the same for bowling skills.^[44][45]

Former West Indies captains Clive Lloyd, Michael Holding and Garfield Sobers criticised Twenty20 for its role in discouraging players from representing their national Test team, with many West Indies players like Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Jason Holder and Dwayne Bravo preferring to play in Twenty20 franchises elsewhere in the world and earn more money.^{[46][47][48][49][50][51]} Similar, New Zealand players Trent Boult and Jimmy Neesham turned down central contracts enabling them to play cricket for New Zealand, instead preferring to concentrate on Twenty20 franchise cricket.^[52] English commentators Geoffrey Boycott and Jonathan Agnew have both expressed dissatisfaction with the format and its effects on longer-form cricket.^[53][54]

Inclusion in multi-sport events

In June 2009, speaking at the annual Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's, former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist pushed for Twenty20 to be made an Olympic sport. "It would," he said, "be difficult to see a better, quicker or cheaper way of spreading the game throughout the world."^[56] This became a reality starting with the 2028 Summer Olympics. T20 cricket has also been accepted into the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.^[57]

Format

Twenty20 match format is a form of limited overs cricket in that it involves two teams, each with a single innings. The key feature is that each team bats for a maximum of 20 overs (120 legal balls). The batting team members do not arrive from and depart to traditional dressing rooms, but come and go from a bench (typically a row of chairs) visible in the playing arena, analogous to association football's technical area or a baseball dugout.^[58]

General rules

The Laws of Cricket apply to Twenty20, with some variations depending on the exact competition rules. The most common include:^{[59][better source needed]}

• Each bowler may bowl a maximum of only one-fifth of the total overs per innings. For a full, uninterrupted match, this is four overs.
• If a bowler delivers a no-ball by overstepping the crease, it costs one or two runs (depending on the competition) and their next delivery is designated a "free hit". In this circumstance the batter can only be dismissed through a run out, hitting the ball twice or obstructing the field.
• The following fielding restrictions apply:
  • No more than five fielders can be on the leg side at any time.
  • During the first six overs, a maximum of two fielders can be outside the 30-yard circle (this is known as the powerplay).
  • After the first six overs, a maximum of five fielders can be outside the fielding circle.
    • However, in Australia's Big Bash League the Powerplay is only the first 4 overs, with the batters choosing when the same restrictions apply for 2 overs in the second half of the innings, in a period called a Powersurge.

Tie deciders

Currently, if the match ends with the scores tied and there must be a winner, the tie is broken with a one-over-per-side Eliminator^[60] or Super Over:^[61][62] Each team nominates three batsmen and one bowler to play a one-over-per-side "mini-match". The team which bats second in the match bats first in the Super Over.^[63][64] In turn, each side bats one over bowled by the one nominated opposition bowler, with their innings over if they lose two wickets before the over is completed. The side with the higher score from their Super Over wins. If the Super Over also ends up in a tie, it is repeated until the tie is broken.

In the Australian domestic competition the Big Bash League, the Super Over is played slightly differently, with no two-wicket limit, and if the Super Over is also tied then a "countback" is used, with scores after the fifth ball for each team being used to determine the result. If it is still tied, then the countback goes to four balls, and so on.^[65] The latest Super Over to decide a match was between the United States and Pakistan on 6 June 2024, in the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, with the United States winning 18/1 to 13/1 in the Super Over after tying on 159.

Tied Twenty20 matches were previously decided by a bowl-out until 2008.^[66]

T20 International rankings

In November 2011, the ICC released the first Twenty20 International rankings for the men's game, based on the same system as the Test and ODI rankings. The rankings cover a two- to three-year period, with matches since the most recent 1 August weighted fully, matches in the preceding 12 months weighted two-thirds, and matches in the 12 months preceding that weighted one-third. To qualify for the rankings, teams must have played at least eight Twenty20 Internationals in the ranking period.^[67][68]

The ICC Women's Rankings were launched in October 2015, which aggregated performance over all three forms of the game.^[69] In October 2018, the ICC announced that the women's ranking would be split between ODIs and T20Is, and released both tables shortly thereafter.^[70]

This section is transcluded from ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings. (edit | history)

More information Team, Matches ...

ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings

Team	Matches	Points	Rating
India	85	23,224	273
England	56	14,522	259
Australia	49	12,645	258
New Zealand	66	16,520	250
South Africa	64	15,632	244
Pakistan	84	20,002	238
West Indies	74	17,424	235
Sri Lanka	60	13,593	227
Bangladesh	67	14,925	223
Afghanistan	52	11,504	221
Zimbabwe	72	14,539	202
Ireland	45	9,001	200
Netherlands	39	7,064	181
Scotland	27	4,836	179
Namibia	39	6,940	178
United States	37	6,562	177
United Arab Emirates	66	11,584	176
Nepal	46	8,031	175
Canada	39	5,928	152
Oman	51	7,707	151
Uganda	56	7,952	142
Papua New Guinea	20	2,718	136
Kuwait	45	5,775	128
Hong Kong	55	7,037	128
Malaysia	62	7,685	124
Italy	22	2,680	122
Qatar	46	5,407	118
Jersey	24	2,819	117
Bahrain	84	9,856	117
Spain	22	2,478	113
Bermuda	27	3,040	113
Saudi Arabia	39	4,245	109
Kenya	48	5,074	106
Tanzania	41	4,082	100
Germany	22	1,924	87
Nigeria	53	4,166	79
Guernsey	27	2,071	77
Cayman Islands	28	2,106	75
Singapore	41	3,075	75
Austria	57	4,054	71
Denmark	18	1,262	70
Norway	30	2,095	70
Japan	42	2,905	69
Portugal	20	1,333	67
Belgium	36	2,059	57
Switzerland	22	1,086	49
Finland	23	1,130	49
Argentina	17	828	49
Sweden	22	1,048	48
Botswana	35	1,661	47
Malawi	43	2,019	47
Isle of Man	13	604	46
France	24	1,109	46
Romania	34	1,544	45
Philippines	26	1,158	45
Bahamas	23	972	42
Czech Republic	22	911	41
Thailand	45	1,811	40
Cook Islands	14	552	39
Cambodia	32	1,246	39
Rwanda	74	2,874	39
Indonesia	79	3,044	39
Fiji	11	387	35
Vanuatu	16	561	35
Cyprus	24	789	33
Ghana	19	570	30
Hungary	33	971	29
Samoa	23	672	29
Zambia	10	290	29
Estonia	24	665	28
Malta	41	1,085	26
Mozambique	20	518	26
Eswatini	19	491	26
Israel	7	178	25
Panama	15	318	21
Bhutan	35	728	21
Belize	8	164	21
Gibraltar	26	494	19
Mexico	20	361	18
Luxembourg	24	432	18
Sierra Leone	27	477	18
Costa Rica	13	218	17
Serbia	30	315	11
Maldives	21	214	10
Suriname	10	83	8
Cameroon	11	86	8
Brazil	12	90	8
Bulgaria	29	191	7
South Korea	16	94	6
Saint Helena	8	44	6
China	6	29	5
Turkey	12	26	2
Gambia	8	6	1
Lesotho	13	7	1
Myanmar	29	0	0
Slovenia	18	0	0
Seychelles	7	0	0
Mali	9	0	0
Greece	6	0	0
Croatia	26	0	0
Mongolia	13	0	0
Timor-Leste	8	0	0
Source: ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings, 11 March 2026 See points calculations for more details.

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This section is transcluded from ICC Women's ODI and T20I Team Rankings. (edit | history)

More information Team, Matches ...

ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings

Team	Matches	Points	Rating
Australia	34	10,007	294
England	46	13,751	277
India	52	13,910	268
New Zealand	37	9,390	254
South Africa	38	9,153	241
West Indies	37	8,788	238
Sri Lanka	45	10,321	229
Pakistan	39	8,467	217
Ireland	48	9,494	198
Bangladesh	41	8,014	195
Scotland	37	5,909	160
Thailand	65	9,954	153
Papua New Guinea	38	5,484	144
Netherlands	51	6,947	136
United Arab Emirates	58	7,584	131
Zimbabwe	42	5,270	125
Uganda	70	7,877	113
Namibia	59	6,378	108
Tanzania	40	4,138	103
Indonesia	33	3,155	96
Nepal	46	4,295	93
Hong Kong	59	5,327	90
Italy	33	2,891	88
United States	29	2,520	87
Rwanda	59	4,901	83
Nigeria	36	2,694	75
Switzerland	12	863	72
Malaysia	45	3,119	69
Kenya	41	2,832	69
Vanuatu	26	1,688	65
Canada	17	1,067	63
Jersey	30	1,870	62
Spain	17	1,049	62
Germany	33	1,850	56
Brazil	32	1,699	53
Oman	24	1,214	51
Myanmar	34	1,577	46
Sweden	24	1,093	46
Isle of Man	30	1,312	44
Japan	33	1,377	42
Sierra Leone	32	1,322	41
Cyprus	18	712	40
Gibraltar	15	535	36
Guernsey	13	442	34
China	27	914	34
Denmark	27	895	33
Kuwait	27	848	31
Samoa	23	709	31
Botswana	35	1,077	31
Bhutan	26	792	30
Turkey	11	322	29
Greece	26	662	25
France	14	352	25
Romania	12	290	24
Croatia	10	237	24
Austria	32	639	20
Argentina	19	322	17
Qatar	29	480	17
Estonia	23	376	16
Fiji	22	358	16
Mozambique	20	301	15
Serbia	17	246	14
Norway	24	342	14
Malta	17	200	12
Malawi	21	226	11
Luxembourg	15	149	10
Cameroon	24	160	7
Lesotho	10	50	5
Singapore	45	166	4
Philippines	23	39	2
Cook Islands	14	6	0
Eswatini	17	0	0
Finland	9	0	0
Czech Republic	19	0	0
Bulgaria	19	0	0
Belgium	8	0	0
Bahrain	22	0	0
Cambodia	10	0	0
Mongolia	20	0	0
Source: ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings, 4 March 2026

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