The 2019–20 international cricket season was from September 2019 to April 2020. 29 Test matches, 78 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 145

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

s (T20Is), as well as 23

Women's One Day International Women's One Day International (WODI) is the limited overs form of women's cricket. Matches are scheduled for 50 overs, equivalent to the men's game. The first women's ODIs were played in 1973, as part of the first Women's World Cup which was ...

s (WODIs) and 61

Women's Twenty20 International Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) is the shortest form of women's international cricket. A women's Twenty20 International is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between two of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members. The first Twent ...

s (WT20Is), were scheduled to be played during this period. Additionally, a number of other T20I/WT20I matches were also scheduled to be played in minor series involving associate nations. The season started with

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

leading the Test cricket rankings,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

leading the ODI rankings and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

leading the Twenty20 rankings. In the women's rankings, Australia women lead both the WODI and WT20I tables. The

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup was the seventh ICC Women's T20 World Cup tournament. It was held in Australia between 21 February and 8 March 2020. The final took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women's Day. Hosts ...

in Australia took place during this time, starting on 21 February 2020, with hosts Australia winning the tournament for the fifth time. In July 2019, the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the ' ...

(ICC) suspended

Zimbabwe Cricket Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), previously known as the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) until 2004, is the governing body for the sport of cricket in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Cricket is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and administers th ...

, with the team barred from taking part in ICC events. It was the first time that a Full Member of the ICC had been suspended. As a result of Zimbabwe's suspension, they were replaced in the

2019 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier The 2019 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament held during October and November 2019 in the United Arab Emirates to determine which teams would qualify for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament. The six teams finishing ...

tournament with

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. In October 2019, the ICC lifted its suspension on Zimbabwe Cricket, allowing them to take part in future ICC events. The

Cricket Association of Nepal Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) is the official governing body of cricket in Nepal. It was suspended from 2016 to 13 October 2019 due to governmental interference. The ICC welcomed the elections of the board held in September 2019 and for ...

, which was suspended in 2016, was also readmitted as an ICC member. International men's cricket started with a one-off Test between

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, which Afghanistan won. During the 2019 United States Tri-Nation Series, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

recorded their first win in ODIs. During the

2020 Nepal Tri-Nation Series The 2020 Nepal Tri-Nation Series was the fifth round of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 cricket tournament and took place in Nepal in February 2020. It was a tri-nation series between Nepal, Oman and the United States cricket teams ...

, the United States were bowled out for 35 in their final match against

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

, which was the joint-lowest innings total in an ODI match. Leagues A and B of the World Cup Challenge League started in this season, with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

winning the inaugural edition of the League A tournament. In September 2019, Australia Women won the WODI series against the West Indies Women 3–0, becoming the first team to qualify for the 2021 Women's Cricket World Cup. In October 2019, Australia Women were confirmed as the champions of the 2017–20 ICC Women's Championship, following their win in the second WODI against Sri Lanka Women. Australia went on to win the third WODI by nine wickets, winning the series 3–0, and setting a new record for the most consecutive wins in WODIs, with 18. In October and November 2019, the

tournament was held in the UAE.

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

became the first two teams to qualify directly to the 2020 ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia, when they won their respective groups.

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

also qualified for the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup, with the Netherlands winning the Qualifier tournament. The day after the final of the T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament, the 1,000th men's T20I match was played, between India and Bangladesh, in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

. In December 2019, the Sri Lankan cricket team toured Pakistan playing two Test matches, marking the return of Test cricket in Pakistan after ten years. In February 2020,

won the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, their first win in an ICC event at any level. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

impacted on several international cricket fixtures and tournaments. A women's quadrangular series was scheduled to take place in Thailand in April 2020, but was cancelled a month before it was due to start. The

2020 Malaysia Cricket World Cup Challenge League A The 2022 Malaysia Cricket World Cup Challenge League A was the third round of matches in Group A of the 2019–2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League, a cricket tournament which formed part of the qualification pathway to the 2023 Cricket ...

, scheduled to take place in March 2020, was postponed, along with two T20I matches between a World XI and Asia XI side. Australia Women's tour to South Africa in March 2020 became the first major international series not to go ahead as planned due to coronavirus. On 13 March 2020, the ICC confirmed that the 2020 United States Tri-Nation Series had been postponed due to the outbreak and travel restrictions to the United States. On the same day, the two-match Test series between Sri Lanka and England, scheduled to be played in March 2020, was also postponed. The last two ODIs between India and South Africa were cancelled, along with the Netherlands' tour to Namibia. On 14 March 2020, Australia cancelled the final two ODIs and their T20I series against New Zealand. On 16 March 2020, the

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Counc ...

cancelled the third leg of the series against Bangladesh, which was scheduled to have a one-off ODI and a Test match. Later the same day, Ireland's tour to Zimbabwe was also cancelled. On 24 March 2020, the ICC confirmed that all ICC qualifying events scheduled to take place before 30 June 2020 had been postponed.

Season overview

Rankings

The following were the rankings at the beginning of the season.

On-going tournaments

The following were the rankings at the beginning of the season.

September

Afghanistan in Bangladesh

Australia women in West Indies

2019–20 Bangladesh Tri-Nation Series

2019 United States Tri-Nation Series

2019–20 Ireland Tri-Nation Series

South Africa in India

The last two ODI matches were cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2019 Malaysia Cricket World Cup Challenge League A

South Africa women in India

2019–20 Singapore Tri-Nation Series

Sri Lanka in Pakistan

Sri Lanka women in Australia

October

2019–20 Oman Pentangular Series

2019 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier

Final standings

Qualified for the 2020 ICC Men's T20 World Cup and 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier.

Bangladesh women in Pakistan

Sri Lanka in Australia

November

England in New Zealand

India women in West Indies

Pakistan in Australia

Bangladesh in India

West Indies vs Afghanistan in India

December

2019 Oman Cricket World Cup Challenge League B

West Indies in India

2019 United Arab Emirates Tri-Nation Series

England women against Pakistan women in Malaysia

New Zealand in Australia

The last two ODI matches were cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

England in South Africa

January

2020 Oman Tri-Nation Series

Sri Lanka in India

Ireland in West Indies

Australia in India

2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup

Sri Lanka in Zimbabwe

India in New Zealand

Bangladesh in Pakistan

The one-off ODI and the second Test were cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

South Africa women in New Zealand

2020 Australia women's Tri-Nation Series

February

2020 Nepal Tri-Nation Series

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Australia in South Africa

Zimbabwe in Bangladesh

West Indies in Sri Lanka

March

Ireland vs Afghanistan in India

England in Sri Lanka

The two Test matches were postponed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the series rescheduled for January 2021.

Mujib 100 T20 Cup Bangladesh 2020

The two T20I matches were postponed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australia women in South Africa

In early March 2020, the tour was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australia in New Zealand

The series was cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Netherlands in Namibia

The tour was cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

April

2020 United States Tri-Nation Series

The ODI series was postponed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ireland in Zimbabwe