Twenty20 International

This article is about the format for men's international cricket. For the women's format, see Women's Twenty20 International.

A Twenty20 International between England and Sri Lanka in June 2006 at The Rose Bowl (Southampton).

A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), where each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. These matches hold top-class status and are the highest T20 standard. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket. Starting from the format's inception in 2005, T20I status only applied to Full Members and some Associate Member teams. However, in April 2018, the ICC announced that it would grant T20I status to all its 105 members from 1 January 2019.

The shortened format was initially introduced to bolster crowds for the domestic game, and was not intended to be played internationally, but the first Twenty20 International took place on 17 February 2005 when Australia defeated New Zealand, and the first tournament was played two years later, with the introduction of the ICC T20 World Cup. In 2016, for the first time in a calendar year, more Twenty20 International matches (100) were played than ODI matches (99). ^[1] As of November 2021, 90 nations feature in ICC T20I team rankings. ^[2]

Twenty20 International format also sees one mandatory powerplay taken in the first six overs. This shorter format of the game makes reaching the traditional milestones of scoring a century or taking five wickets in an innings more difficult, and few players have achieved these. The highest individual score in a Twenty20 International is 172, made by Australia's Aaron Finch against Zimbabwe in 2018, while Nigeria's Peter Aho has the best bowling figures of 6/5 against Sierra Leone in October 2021.

Origins

Cricket itself was probably first played in England in the Late Middle Ages, but it did not rise to prominence until the eighteenth century. A set of laws were drawn up in 1744, and the game achieved a level of relative standardisation by the late nineteenth century. ^[3] One-day cricket was trialled in 1962, and the first domestic tournament played the following year, ^[4] and in 1971, England and Australia contested the first One Day International. The match consisted of one innings for each side, with 40 eight-ball overs. ^[5]

In the 1990s, a number of countries were exploring the possibility of a shorter game still: in New Zealand, Martin Crowe developed Cricket Max, in which each team bats for 10 eight-ball overs, ^[6] while in Australia they considered an eight-a-side contest they dubbed "Super 8s". At the same time, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) conducted consumer research, and proposed the idea of a 20 overs-per-side contest, which would last for about three hours. ^[7] The first match was played in 2003 between Hampshire and Sussex.^{[ citation needed ]}

History

The first Twenty20 International match between two men's sides was played on 17 February 2005, involving Australia and New Zealand. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack reported that "neither side took the game especially seriously", ^[8] and it was noted by ESPNcricinfo that but for a large score for Ricky Ponting, "the concept would have shuddered". ^[9] However, Ponting himself said "if it does become an international game then I'm sure the novelty won't be there all the time". ^[10]

Two further matches were played that year; England beat Australia in June, and South Africa were defeated by New Zealand in October. ^[11] Early the following year, a contest between New Zealand and the West Indies finished as the first tied match, and a tiebreak was played for the first time in men's international cricket: the two sides took part in a bowl-out to determine a winner; New Zealand won 3–0. ^[12]

The game had initially been developed to boost the interest in domestic cricket, and to aid this the international teams were only allowed to host three T20Is each year. The cricket manager for the ICC, David Richardson, also commented that "Part of the success of Twenty20 cricket is making sure it can coexist with Test cricket and one-dayers." ^[13] Despite this, the first international tournament was held in 2007 in South Africa; the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. ^[13] That tournament was won by India, who defeated their close rivals Pakistan in the final. Writing for The Guardian , Dilip Premachandran suggested that the competition's success meant that "the format is here to stay". ^[14] The next tournament was scheduled for 2009, and it was decided that they would take place biannually (more frequently than the 50 over Cricket World Cup, which occurs once every four years). ^[15] In the opening match of the 2007 World Twenty20, Chris Gayle scored the first century in a T20I, the achievement being reached in the twentieth match of the format. ^[16]

The 500th T20I match was contested between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on 16 February 2016. ^[17]

ICC decided to use Decision Review System (DRS) in Twenty20 Internationals from the end of September 2017, ^{[18] [19]} with its first use in the India-Australia T20I series in October 2017. ^[20]

Current international rankings

Current ICC members by membership status:
  Full members (12)
  Associate members with ODI status (8)
  Associate members (85)
  Former members (4)
  Non-members

ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings v t e
Rank	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	India	71	18,867	266
2	New Zealand	60	15,387	256
3	England	48	12,305	256
4	Australia	39	9,760	250
5	Pakistan	58	14,454	249
6	South Africa	37	9,210	249
7	West Indies	44	10,800	245
8	Sri Lanka	41	9,574	234
9	Bangladesh	46	10,452	227
10	Afghanistan	37	7,443	219
11	Namibia	28	5,539	198
12	Ireland	47	9,117	194
13	Zimbabwe	53	10,222	193
14	Scotland	18	3,412	190
15	Netherlands	19	3,445	181
16	Nepal	27	4,796	178
17	United Arab Emirates	38	6,623	174
18	Oman	24	3,678	153
19	Papua New Guinea	22	3,173	144
20	Canada	18	2,528	140
21	Hong Kong	28	3,740	134
22	Uganda	65	8,602	132
23	United States	9	1,183	131
24	Jersey	19	2,427	128
25	Malaysia	41	5,132	125
26	Kuwait	28	3,360	120
27	Bahrain	36	3,972	110
28	Qatar	18	1,964	109
29	Kenya	44	4,697	107
30	Bermuda	14	1,494	107
31	Saudi Arabia	23	2,327	101
32	Italy	17	1,712	101
33	Tanzania	49	4,727	96
34	Spain	18	1,649	92
35	Germany	33	3,022	92
36	Singapore	31	2,390	77
37	Guernsey	16	1,212	76
38	Nigeria	30	2,261	75
39	Portugal	16	1,167	73
40	Cayman Islands	11	790	72
41	Denmark	23	1,622	71
42	Belgium	18	1,237	69
43	Cambodia	16	1,060	66
44	Isle of Man	15	949	63
45	Austria	29	1,682	58
46	Norway	15	852	57
47	Vanuatu	15	846	56
48	Botswana	29	1,543	53
49	Finland	18	953	53
50	Switzerland	16	835	52
51	Japan	18	921	51
52	Malawi	19	933	49
53	Czech Republic	24	1,101	46
54	France	16	730	46
55	Sweden	18	759	42
56	Indonesia	26	1,092	42
57	Philippines	17	698	41
58	Romania	28	1,149	41
59	Cook Islands	6	245	41
60	Argentina	11	424	39
61	Mozambique	24	864	36
62	Malta	44	1,535	35
63	Rwanda	70	2,255	32
64	Ghana	31	968	31
65	Fiji	10	304	30
66	Luxembourg	30	845	28
67	Sierra Leone	28	766	27
68	Cyprus	8	206	26
69	Thailand	18	457	25
70	Bahamas	10	241	24
71	Belize	3	66	22
72	Bhutan	15	303	20
73	Hungary	19	367	19
74	Panama	11	206	19
75	Serbia	19	214	14
76	Gibraltar	30	385	13
77	Bulgaria	30	289	10
78	Lesotho	9	82	9
79	China	7	63	9
80	Estonia	11	60	5
81	Maldives	20	75	4
82	Turkey	7	26	4
83	Cameroon	14	25	2
84	Myanmar	7	12	2
85	Gambia	9	11	1
86	Eswatini	18	0	0
87	Seychelles	7	0	0
88	Samoa	9	0	0
89	Mali	8	0	0
90	Croatia	10	0	0
91	Greece	6	0	0
References: ICC T20I rankings, As of 7 February 2024
"Matches" is the number of matches played in the 12–24 months since the May before last, plus half the number in the 24 months before that.

Teams with T20I status

Permanent T20I status

Prior to 2019, permanent T20I status was limited to the Test-playing nations (the full members of the ICC), which included 12 teams after the promotion of Afghanistan and Ireland to full member status in 2017. In April 2018, the ICC announced that it would grant T20I status to all of its 105 members from 1 January 2019. ^{[21] [22] [23]} Nations that have played T20I cricket are listed below, with the date of their first T20I after gaining permanent T20I status shown in brackets (some of these nations had previously played T20Is with temporary status):

1.   Australia (17 February 2005)
2.   New Zealand (17 February 2005)
3.   England (13 June 2005)
4.   South Africa (21 October 2005)
5.   West Indies (16 February 2006)
6.   Sri Lanka (15 June 2006)
7.   Pakistan (28 August 2006)
8.   Bangladesh (28 November 2006)
9.   Zimbabwe (28 November 2006)
10.   India (1 December 2006)
11.   Afghanistan (5 February 2018)
12.   Ireland (12 June 2018)
13.   Bahrain (20 January 2019)
14.   Kuwait (20 January 2019)
15.   Maldives (20 January 2019)
16.   Saudi Arabia (20 January 2019)
17.   Qatar (21 January 2019)
18.     Nepal (31 January 2019)
19.   United Arab Emirates (31 January 2019)
20.   Netherlands (13 February 2019)
21.   Oman (13 February 2019)
22.   Scotland (13 February 2019)
23.   United States (15 March 2019)
24.   Papua New Guinea (22 March 2019)
25.   Philippines (22 March 2019)
26.   Vanuatu (22 March 2019)
27.   Malta (29 March 2019)
28.   Spain (29 March 2019)
29.   Belize (25 April 2019)
30.   Costa Rica (25 April 2019)
31.   Mexico (25 April 2019)
32.   Panama (25 April 2019)
33.   Belgium (11 May 2019)
34.   Germany (11 May 2019)
35.   Botswana (20 May 2019)
36.   Ghana (20 May 2019)
37.   Kenya (20 May 2019)
38.   Namibia (20 May 2019)
39.   Nigeria (20 May 2019)
40.   Uganda (20 May 2019)
41.   Italy (25 May 2019)
42.   Guernsey (31 May 2019)
43.   Jersey (31 May 2019)
44.   Norway (15 June 2019)
45.   Denmark (16 June 2019)
46.   Malaysia (24 June 2019)
47.   Thailand (24 June 2019)
48.   Samoa (8 July 2019)
49.   Finland (13 July 2019)
50.   Singapore (22 July 2019)
51.   Bermuda (18 August 2019)
52.   Canada (18 August 2019)
53.   Cayman Islands (18 August 2019)
54.   Austria (29 August 2019)
55.   Luxembourg (29 August 2019)
56.   Romania (29 August 2019)
57.   Turkey (29 August 2019)
58.   Czech Republic (30 August 2019)
59.   Argentina (3 October 2019)
60.   Brazil (3 October 2019)
61.   Chile (3 October 2019)
62.   Peru (3 October 2019)
63.   Hong Kong (5 October 2019)
64.   Bulgaria (14 October 2019)
65.   Serbia (14 October 2019)
66.   Greece (15 October 2019)
67.   Portugal (25 October 2019)
68.   Gibraltar (26 October 2019)
69.   Malawi (6 November 2019)
70.   Mozambique (6 November 2019)
71.   Bhutan (5 December 2019)
72.   Iran (23 February 2020)
73.   Isle of Man (21 August 2020)
74.   France (5 August 2021)
75.   Sweden (14 August 2021)
76.   Rwanda (18 August 2021)
77.   Hungary (2 September 2021)
78.   Cyprus (5 October 2021)
79.   Estonia (5 October 2021)
80.   Eswatini (16 October 2021)
81.   Lesotho (16 October 2021)
82.   Seychelles (16 October 2021)
83.   Sierra Leone (19 October 2021)
84.    Switzerland (22 October 2021)
85.   Tanzania (2 November 2021)
86.   Cameroon (3 November 2021)
87.   Bahamas (7 November 2021)
88.   Israel (28 June 2022)
89.   Croatia (13 July 2022)
90.   Slovenia (25 July 2022)
91.   Cook Islands (9 September 2022)
92.   Fiji (9 September 2022)
93.   Indonesia (9 October 2022)
94.   Japan (9 October 2022)
95.   South Korea (15 October 2022)
96.   Mali (17 November 2022)
97.   Saint Helena (17 November 2022)
98.   Gambia (1 December 2022)
99.   Cambodia (4 May 2023)
100.   China (26 July 2023)
101.   Myanmar (26 July 2023)
102.   Mongolia (27 September 2023)

Temporary T20I status (Defunct)

Between 2005 and 2018, the ICC granted temporary ODI and T20I status to a selection of other teams (known as Associate members). Teams earned this temporary status for a period of four years based on their performance in the quadrennial ICC World Cricket League – or, more specifically, based on the top six finishing positions at the ICC World Cup Qualifier, which is the final event of the World Cricket League. ^[24] Teams could also earn this status by qualifying for the ICC T20 World Cup.

Twelve nations held this temporary T20I status before gaining permanent T20I status or losing status after underperforming at the World Cup Qualifier or World Twenty20 Qualifier (dates shown are for the first and last matches played while holding temporary T20I status, not when this status was gained, lost or changed to permanent):

•   Kenya (from 1 September 2007, until 30 January 2014)
•   Scotland (from 12 September 2007, until 20 June 2018)
•   Ireland (from 2 August 2008, until 12 March 2017)
•   Netherlands (from 2 August 2008, until 29 July 2018)
•   Canada (from 2 August 2008, until 28 January 2014)
•   Bermuda (from 3 August 2008, until 8 April 2009)
•   Afghanistan (from 1 February 2010, until 5 June 2017)
•     Nepal (from 16 March 2014, until 29 July 2018)
•   Hong Kong (from 16 March 2014, until 18 January 2017)
•   United Arab Emirates (from 17 March 2014, until 22 October 2018)
•   Papua New Guinea (from 13 July 2015, until 17 March 2018)
•   Oman (from 25 July 2015, until 19 January 2017)

The ICC has also given special T20I status to the ICC World XI team for:

• The 2017 Independence Cup, a three match series versus Pakistan national team to help revive international cricket in Pakistan. ^[25]
• The Hurricane Relief T20 Challenge, a one-off match against West Indies on 31 May 2018, to raise funds for stadiums damaged by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in September 2017. ^[26]

Cricket at international multi-sport events

Cricket was played as part of the 1900 Summer Olympics, when England and France contested a two-day match. ^[27] In 1998, cricket was played as part of the Commonwealth Games, on this occasion in the 50-over format. There was some talk about Twenty20 cricket being part of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which were held in Delhi, but at the time the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), were not in favour of the short format of the game, and it was not included. ^[28]

Cricket was played in 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China ^[29] and 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. ^[30] India skipped both times. ^[31] There was further calls for subsequent Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games. The Commonwealth Games Federation asked the ICC to participate in the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games, but the ICC turned down the invitation. ^[32] In 2010, the International Olympic Committee recognised the International Cricket Council as a governing body that complied to the requirements of the Olympic charter which in turn meant that cricket could apply to be included in the Olympic Games, ^[33] but in 2013 the ICC announced that it had no intentions to make such an application, primarily due to opposition from the BCCI. ESPNcricinfo suggested that the opposition might be based on the possible loss of income.^{[ citation needed ]} In April 2016, ICC chief executive David Richardson said that Twenty20 cricket can have a chance of getting in for the 2024 Summer Games, but there must be collective support shown by the ICC's membership base, in particular from BCCI, in order for there to be a chance of inclusion. ^[34]

Statistics

Main article: List of Twenty20 International records

Main article: List of centuries in Twenty20 International cricket

Main article: List of five-wicket hauls in Twenty20 International cricket

Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell are the only players to score 5 T20I tons. The highest team total in a T20I was made by Nepal versus Mongolia when they scored 314/3. ^[35] The lowest total was recorded in 2019, when Czech Republic bowled out Turkey for just 21 runs. ^[36] The highest successful chase was made in March 2023, when South Africa scored 259 runs to overhaul West Indies's target and win the match. ^[37]

As of 29 November 2022, ^[update] Virat Kohli has scored the most runs in the format with 4,037 runs. ^[38] Aaron Finch has made the highest individual score in T20Is, with his innings of 172 against Zimbabwe in 2018. ^[39] New Zealand bowler Tim Southee holds the records for the most wickets, having taken 151 wickets. ^[40]

See also

• List of International Cricket Council members
• Women's Twenty20 International

References

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4. Williamson, Martin (9 April 2011). "The low-key birth of one-day cricket". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved 3 February 2015.
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8. Ramsay, Andrew (2006). "New Zealand v Australia". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
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19. "ICC takes a huge decision which may slow down T20s". DNA India. 4 February 2017.
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23. "T20s between all ICC members to have international status". ESPNcricinfo . 27 April 2018. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
24. "Nepal, Netherlands get T20 international status". ESPNcricinfo. 28 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
25. "ICC confirms plans for World XI tour to Pakistan for three-game T20 series in September". Firstpost. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
26. "West Indies, Rest of the World XI to play fundraising T20I". ESPNcricinfo. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
27. Buchanan, Ian (1993). Mallon, Bill (ed.). "Cricket at the 1900 Games" (PDF). Journal of Olympic History. International Society of Olympic Historians. 1 (2): 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2008.
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34. "ICC's Richardson wants more teams in World T20". ESPNcricinfo. 3 April 2016.
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40. "Records / Twenty20 Internatioոals / Bowling records / Most wickets in career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2020.