Twenty20

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Lasith Malinga bowling to Shahid Afridi in the 2009 T20 World Cup Final at Lord's, London. T20 final 2009.jpg
Lasith Malinga bowling to Shahid Afridi in the 2009 T20 World Cup Final at Lord's, London.

Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. [1] In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innings each, which is restricted to a maximum of twenty overs. Together with first-class and List A cricket, Twenty20 is one of the three forms of cricket recognised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as being played at the highest level, both internationally and domestically.

Contents

A typical Twenty20 match lasts just over 3 hours, [2] with each innings lasting around 90 minutes and an official 10-minute break between the innings. This is much shorter than previous forms of the game, and is closer to the timespan of other popular team sports. It was introduced to create a fast-paced game that would be attractive to spectators at the ground and viewers on television.

The game has succeeded in spreading around the cricket world. On most international tours there is at least one Twenty20 match and all Test-playing nations have a domestic cup competition.

History

Origins

Former England batsman Andrew Strauss batting for Middlesex against Surrey Andrew Strauss twenty20.jpg
Former England batsman Andrew Strauss batting for Middlesex against Surrey

When the Benson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the ECB sought another one-day competition to fill with the younger generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship. The Board wanted to deliver fast-paced, exciting cricket accessible to fans who were put off by the longer versions of the game. [3] Stuart Robertson, the marketing manager of the ECB, 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. [4]

The first official Twenty20 matches were played on 13 June 2003 between the English counties in the Twenty20 Cup. [5] 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. [6] 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. [7]

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. [8]

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. [9] [10]

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. [11] 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 [12] against the ODI World Champions. [13]

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. [14] [15] 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, [16] but no further fixtures were held as Allen Stanford was charged with fraud in 2009. [17]

T20 leagues

Crowd during a match of the 2015 IPL season in Hyderabad, India SRH fans while an ipl match.jpg
Crowd during a match of the 2015 IPL season in Hyderabad, India

Several T20 leagues started after the popularity of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. [18] 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 [19] were sold to Star India for US$2.55 billion, [20] 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. [21]

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. [22] [23] 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.

Several T20 leagues [24] follow the general format of having a group stage followed by a Page playoff system among the top four teams where:

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. [25]

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. [26]

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, [27] and in 2018, announced that it will give international status to all T20 cricket matches played between its member nations. [28] This resulted in a significant leap in the number of T20I matches played across the world. [29] [30]

Twenty20 World Cup

Every two years an ICC World Twenty20 tournament is to take place, except in the event of an ICC Cricket World Cup being scheduled in the same year, in which case it will be held the year before. The first tournament was in 2007 in South Africa where India defeated Pakistan in the final. Two Associate teams had played in the first tournament, selected through the 2007 ICC World Cricket League Division One, a 50-over competition. In December 2007 it was decided to hold a qualifying tournament with a 20-over format to better prepare the teams. With six participants, two would qualify for the 2009 World Twenty20 and would each receive $250,000 in prize money. [31] The second tournament was won by Pakistan, who beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in England on 21 June 2009. The 2010 ICC World Twenty20 tournament was held in the West Indies in May 2010, where England defeated Australia by seven wickets. The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 was won by the West Indies, by defeating Sri Lanka at the finals. It was the first time in cricket history when a T20 World Cup tournament took place in an Asian country. The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 was won by Sri Lanka, by defeating India at the finals, where the tournament was held in Bangladesh. The 2016 ICC World Twenty20 was won by West Indies. In July 2020, the ICC announced that both the 2020 and 2021 editions had been postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2021, the ICC expanded the Twenty20 World Cup from 16 to 20 teams starting from the 2024 edition onwards. [32]

Impact on the game

Twenty20 matches can have some exciting displays, such as when the batsmen run out to the pitch Twenty20 cricket start.JPG
Twenty20 matches can have some exciting displays, such as when the batsmen run out to the pitch

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. [33] Matthew Hayden credited retirement from international cricket with aiding his performance in general and fitness in particular in the Indian Premier League. [34]

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. [35] [27] T20's success has also inspired the invention of even shorter formats, such as T10 cricket and 100-ball cricket, [36] 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. [37]

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. [38] 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. [39] [40]

Former West Indies captains Clive Lloyd, Michael Holding and Garfield Sobers criticised Twenty20 for its role in discouraging players from representing their test cricket national side, with many West Indies players like Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Jason Holder and Dwayne Bravo preferring instead to play in a Twenty20 franchise elsewhere in the world and make far more money. [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] 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. [47]

Under-17s and Under-19s are playing T20 games in national championships, and at the detriment of two-day games. Good state players these days are averaging 35; if you were averaging 35 when I was playing your dad would go and buy you a basketball or a footy and tell you to play that.

Ricky Ponting, [48]

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." [49] This became a reality starting with the 2028 Summer Olympics. T20 cricket has also been accepted into the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. [50]

Match format and rules

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. [51]

Middlesex playing against Surrey at Lord's, in front of a 28,000-strong crowd Twenty20 game.jpg
Middlesex playing against Surrey at Lord's, in front of a 28,000-strong crowd

General rules

The Laws of Cricket apply to Twenty20, with some variations depending on the exact competition rules. The most common include: [52] [ better source needed ]

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 [53] or Super Over: [54] [55] 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. [56] [57] 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. [58] 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. [59]

International

Women's and men's Twenty20 Internationals have been played since 2004 and 2005 respectively. To date, 76 nations have played the format, including all Test-playing nations.

NationDate of men's T20I debutDate of women's T20I debut
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 17 February 20052 September 2005
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 17 February 20055 August 2004
Flag of England.svg  England 13 June 20055 August 2004
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 21 October 200510 August 2007
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 16 February 200627 June 2008
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 15 June 200612 June 2009
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 28 August 200625 May 2009
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 28 November 200627 August 2012
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe 28 November 20065 January 2019
Flag of India.svg  India 1 December 20065 August 2006
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 1 September 20076 April 2019
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 12 September 20077 July 2018
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 2 August 200827 June 2008
Cricket Ireland flag.svg  Ireland 2 August 200827 June 2008
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 2 August 200817 May 2019
Flag of Bermuda.svg  Bermuda 3 August 2008
Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan 2 February 2010
Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal 16 March 201412 January 2019
Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong 16 March 201412 January 2019
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 17 March 20147 July 2018
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 15 July 20157 July 2018
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 25 July 201517 January 2020
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone 19 October 202120 August 2018
Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho 16 October 202120 August 2018
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 9 October 20223 November 2018
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 26 July 20233 November 2018
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 9 October 202212 January 2019
Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar 26 July 202312 January 2019
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan 5 December 201913 January 2019
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 20 January 201920 March 2022
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 20 January 201920 March 2022
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 20 January 201918 February 2019
Flag of Maldives.svg  Maldives 20 January 20192 December 2019
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 21 January 201917 January 2020
Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda 18 August 202126 January 2019
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 15 March 201917 May 2019
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 22 March 201921 December 2019
Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu 22 March 20196 May 2019
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 29 March 20195 May 2022
Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 29 March 201927 August 2022
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 25 April 201923 August 2018
Flag of Belize.svg  Belize 25 April 201913 December 2019
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 25 April 201926 April 2019
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 25 April 2019
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 9 October 20226 May 2019
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 9 September 20226 May 2019
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 2 November 20216 May 2019
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 11 May 201925 September 2021
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 11 May 201926 June 2019
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 20 May 20197 July 2018
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 20 May 201926 January 2019
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 20 May 201928 March 2022
Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia 20 May 201920 August 2018
Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 20 May 201920 August 2018
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 25 May 20199 August 2021
Flag of Guernsey.svg  Guernsey 31 May 201931 May 2019
Flag of Jersey.svg  Jersey 31 May 201931 May 2019
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 15 June 201931 July 2019
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 16 June 201928 May 2022
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali 17 November 202118 June 2019
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 24 June 20193 June 2018
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 24 June 20193 June 2018
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 8 July 20196 May 2019
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 13 July 2019
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 22 July 20199 August 2018
Flag of France.svg  France 5 August 202131 July 2019
Flag of the Cayman Islands.svg  Cayman Islands 18 August 201926 September 2024
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 29 August 201931 July 2019
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 29 August 201927 August 2022
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 29 August 2019
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 29 August 201929 May 2023
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 30 August 2019
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 3 October 20193 October 2019
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 3 October 201923 August 2018
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 3 October 201923 August 2018
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru 3 October 20193 October 2019
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 14 October 2019
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 14 October 201910 September 2022
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 15 October 20199 September 2022
Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal 25 October 2019
Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar 26 October 2019
Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi 6 November 201920 August 2018
Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique 6 November 201920 August 2018

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. [60] [61]

The ICC Women's Rankings were launched in October 2015, which aggregated performance over all three forms of the game. [62] In October 2018, the ICC announced that the women's ranking would be split between ODIs and T20Is, and released both tables shortly thereafter. [63]

TeamMatchesPointsRating
Flag of India.svg  India 5815,706271
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 379,829266
Flag of England.svg  England 4210,774257
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 4611,628253
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 4510,950243
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 5112,161238
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 388,811232
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 5913,680232
Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan 368,042223
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 5411,950221
Cricket Ireland flag.svg  Ireland 326,439201
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe 5110,209200
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 356,366182
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 234,178182
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 519,142179
Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia 264,617178
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 335,769175
Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal 335,535168
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 355,374154
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 365,257146
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 517,311143
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 182,568143
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 385,086134
Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong 496,256128
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 516,333124
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 617,285119
Flag of Jersey.svg  Jersey 242,819117
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 151,725115
Flag of Bermuda.svg  Bermuda 273,040113
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 323,587112
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 171,872110
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 394,245109
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 434,586107
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 363,54799
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 221,92487
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 382,99279
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 372,84477
Flag of Guernsey.svg  Guernsey 272,07177
Flag of the Cayman Islands.svg  Cayman Islands 261,92174
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 533,77171
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 181,26270
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 302,09570
Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal 201,33367
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 322,05564
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 362,05957
Flag of Cambodia.svg  Cambodia 241,36557
Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 281,40450
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 221,08649
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 231,13049
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 1362748
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 221,04848
Flag of the Isle of Man.svg  Isle of Man 1360446
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 361,65446
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 301,36045
Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi 381,68644
Flag of France.svg  France 251,08243
Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas 2397242
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 2291141
Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands 1455239
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 2282738
Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda 642,34337
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 1138735
Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu 1656135
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 1957030
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone 1750430
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 561,65029
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 3397129
Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 421,19128
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 2466528
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 1746027
Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique 2051826
Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini 1949126
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 717825
Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 1842023
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 1531821
Flag of Belize.svg  Belize 816421
Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar 2649419
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 2443218
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 2645117
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 1321817
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan 2133616
Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname 811915
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 913115
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 1722213
Flag of Maldives.svg  Maldives 2121410
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 11868
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 231456
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 16946
Flag of Saint Helena.svg  Saint Helena 8446
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 6295
Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho 11242
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 12262
Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia 861
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 1800
Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles 700
Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar 1600
Flag of Mali.svg  Mali 900
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 600
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 2100
Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia 1300
Source: ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings, 13 September 2025
See points calculations for more details.

TeamMatchesPointsRating
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 319,260299
Flag of England.svg  England 4612,751277
Flag of India.svg  India 4411,581263
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 348,600253
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 337,954241
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg  West Indies 358,433241
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 388,672228
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 367,790216
Cricket Ireland flag.svg  Ireland 397,818200
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 346,535192
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 436,708156
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 203,071154
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 233,508153
Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe 334,440135
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 374,736128
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 425,161123
Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia 455,075113
Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 586,488112
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 303,221107
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 282,72797
Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal 363,36093
Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong 504,48490
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 332,89188
Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda 594,90183
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 221,72578
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 362,69475
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 302,21774
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 1178271
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 412,83269
Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu 251,63365
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 956363
Flag of Jersey.svg  Jersey 301,87062
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 171,04962
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 331,85056
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 321,69953
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 241,09346
Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar 231,04045
Flag of the Isle of Man.svg  Isle of Man 301,31244
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 321,34542
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  Sierra Leone 321,32241
Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 1871240
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2390839
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 727339
Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar 1553536
Flag of Guernsey.svg  Guernsey 1344234
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 2274634
Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 351,07731
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 2369930
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 2266830
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 2666225
Flag of France.svg  France 1435225
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 615025
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 1023724
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 2761723
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan 2039820
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 1627717
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 1932217
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 2337616
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 812616
Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique 2030115
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 1724614
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 2127413
Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 1720012
Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi 2122611
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 201638
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 241607
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 412446
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 13756
Flag of Lesotho.svg  Lesotho 10505
Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands 13564
Flag of Eswatini.svg  Eswatini 1700
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 2000
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 900
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 1600
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 1500
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 800
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 1500
Flag of Cambodia.svg  Cambodia 1000
Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia 1600
Source: ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings, 13 September 2025

Domestic professional T20 leagues

The Perth Scorchers taking on the Hobart Hurricanes at the WACA Ground during Australia's BBL 01 (2011-12). HobartVSPerth WACA.jpg
The Perth Scorchers taking on the Hobart Hurricanes at the WACA Ground during Australia's BBL 01 (2011–12).
The Guyana Amazon Warriors taking on the Trinbago Knight Riders at the Providence Stadium during West Indies' CPL 06 (2018). Providence Stadium, CPL 2018.jpg
The Guyana Amazon Warriors taking on the Trinbago Knight Riders at the Providence Stadium during West Indies' CPL 06 (2018).

This is a list of the current Twenty20 domestic competitions in several of the leading cricket countries.

CountryDomestic competitionsNumber of teams
Australia Big Bash League 8
Bangladesh Bangladesh Premier League 8
Canada Global T20 Canada 6
England Vitality Blast 18
Hong Kong Hong Kong T20 Blitz 5
India Indian Premier League, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 10, 38
Ireland Inter-Provincial Trophy 4
Netherlands Dutch Twenty20 Cup 16
Nepal Nepal Premier League 8
New Zealand Super Smash 6
Pakistan Pakistan Super League, National T20 Cup, Champions T20 Cup 6, 8, 6
Scotland Murgitroyd Twenty20, Regional Pro Series 3
South Africa Mzansi Super League, CSA Provincial T20 Cup, SA20 6, 15, 6
Sri Lanka Lanka Premier League 5
West Indies Caribbean Premier League 6
United Arab Emirates International League T20 6
United States Major League Cricket 6
Zimbabwe Stanbic Bank 20 Series 4
Eden Gardens Kolkata.jpg
The Kolkata Knight Riders taking on the Chennai Super Kings at the Eden Gardens during India's IPL 01 (2008)

See also

References

  1. "The first official T20 in 2003". 12 March 2016. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  2. icc (30 January 2024). "ICC Men's T20 World Cup: Frequently Asked Questions". icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 6 August 2024. On average, an ICC Men's T20 World Cup match is approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes in duration.
  3. Gardner, Alan (13 January 2015). "T20 timeline: Revolution to uncertainty". ESPNcricinfo . ESPN.
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