
Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
. At the professional level, it was introduced by the
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka ECB, is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test ...
(ECB) in 2003 for the
inter-county
Inter-county, is Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) List of Gaelic games terminology, terminology which refers to competitions or matches between County (Gaelic games), counties, as used in Gaelic games (differently from legal counties). The term c ...
competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single
innings
An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...
each, which is restricted to a maximum of twenty
overs. Together with
first-class and
List A
List A cricket is a classification of the Limited overs cricket, limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competit ...
cricket, Twenty20 is one of the three
forms of cricket recognised by the
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...
(ICC) as being played at the highest level, both internationally and domestically.
A typical Twenty20 match lasts just over 3 hours, 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
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
-playing nations have a domestic cup competition.
History
Origins

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. 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.
The first official Twenty20 matches were played on 13 June 2003 between the English counties in the
Twenty20 Cup
The T20 Blast, officially known as the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003. T20 Blast is ...
. 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. The first Twenty20 match held at
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
, on 15 July 2004 between
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
and
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, 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.
Worldwide spread
Thirteen teams from different parts of the country participated in Pakistan's inaugural competition in 2004, with the
Faisalabad Wolves
The Faisalabad Wolves was a domestic limited-overs cricket team based in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. The team was established in 2004 and its home ground was Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
The team were champions in the maiden season 2004� ...
the first winners. On 12 January 2005 Australia's first Twenty20 game was played at the
WACA Ground
The WACA Ground () is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium's name derives from the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA).
The WACA has been referred to as Western Australia' ...
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.
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
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
won the inaugural event, defeating
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
by five wickets, securing US$1 million in prize money.
On 5 January 2007 the
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland men's cricket team or the Queensland Bulls is the representative cricket side in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments for the Australian state of Queensland:
*Sheffield Shield: four-day matches with first-class status, sinc ...
played the
New South Wales Blues at
The Gabba
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...
,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. 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. For the February 2008 Twenty20 match between Australia and India, 85,824 people attended the match at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
, involving the
Twenty20 World Champions against the
ODI World Champions.
The
Stanford Super Series was held in October 2008 between the three teams. The respective winners of the English and Caribbean Twenty20 competitions,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
and
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
, and a
Stanford Superstars team formed from West Indies domestic players. Trinidad and Tobago won the competition, securing US$280,000 prize money. 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, but no further fixtures were held as Allen Stanford was charged with fraud in 2009.
T20 leagues

Several T20 leagues started after the popularity of the
2007 ICC World Twenty20
The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 was the inaugural edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20 that was contested in South Africa from 11 to 24 September 2007. Twelve teams took part in the thirteen-day tournament� ...
. The
Board of Control for Cricket in India
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...
started the
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
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 were sold to
Star India
Disney Star (also known as JioStar), registered as JioStar India Private Limited, is an Indian media conglomerate joint venture owned with a share of 16.34% by Reliance Industries, 46.82% by Viacom18 and 36.84% by Disney India. On 14 Nove ...
for US$2.55 billion, 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.
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. The
Women's Big Bash League was started in 2015 by Cricket Australia, while the
Kia Super League was started in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...
in 2016. The
Mzansi Super League in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
was started in 2018.
Several T20 leagues 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.
Twenty20 Internationals
The first Twenty20 International match was held on 5 August 2004 between the
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
women's teams, with
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
winning by nine runs.
On 17 February 2005
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
defeated
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
in the first men's international Twenty20 match, played at
Eden Park in
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
. 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
A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction.
Red card may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers
* Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...
(red cards are not normally used in cricket) in response.
The first Twenty20 international in England was played between
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
at the
Rose Bowl in Hampshire on 13 June 2005, which England won by a margin of 100 runs, a record victory which lasted until 2007.
On 9 January 2006
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
met in the first international Twenty20 game in Australia. In a first, each player's
nickname
A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
appeared on the back of his uniform, rather than his surname. The international match drew a crowd of 38,894 people at
The Gabba
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...
.
On 16 February 2006
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
defeated
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
in a tie-breaking
bowl-out 3–0; 126 runs were scored apiece in the game proper. The game was the last international match played by
Chris Cairns
Christopher Lance Cairns (born 13 June 1970) is a former New Zealand cricketer and former ODI captain, who played for the New Zealand cricket team as an all-rounder. Cairns finished his Test career with a batting average of 33.53 and a bowling ...
.
The ICC has declared that it sees T20 as the optimal format for globalizing the game,
and in 2018, announced that it will give international status to all T20 cricket matches played between its member nations. This resulted in a significant leap in the number of T20I matches played across the world.
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
The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is a quadrennial world cup for cricket in One Day International (ODI) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament is one of the world's most viewed sporting events and consid ...
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
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
defeated
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
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. The
second tournament was won by
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, who beat
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
by eight wickets in England on 21 June 2009. The
2010 ICC World Twenty20
The 2010 ICC World Twenty20 was the third edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament that was held in the West Indies between 30 April and 16 May 2010. It was wo ...
tournament was held in the West Indies in May 2010, where
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
defeated
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
by seven wickets. The
2012 ICC World Twenty20
The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 was the fourth edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, an international Twenty20 International, Twenty20 cricket tournament that took place in Sri Lanka from 18 September to 7 O ...
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
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
In June 2021, the ICC expanded the Twenty20 World Cup from 16 to 20 teams starting from the 2024 edition onwards.
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.
Matthew Hayden credited retirement from international cricket with aiding his performance in general and fitness in particular in the
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
.
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.
T20's success has also inspired the invention of even shorter formats, such as
T10 cricket and
100-ball cricket, 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.
Former Australian captain
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator, and former player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time and is the most successful captain in international cricket history, ...
, on the other hand, has criticised Twenty20 as being detrimental to Test cricket and for hampering batsmen's scoring skills and concentration. 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.
Former
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
captains
Clive Lloyd,
Michael Holding
Michael Anthony Holding (born 16 February 1954) is a Jamaican former cricketer and commentator who played for the West Indies cricket team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pace bowlers in cricket history, he was nicknamed "Whispering De ...
and
Garfield Sobers
The Right Excellent Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, NH, AO, OCC (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a Barbadian born former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowle ...
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.
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.
Inclusion in multi-sport events
In June 2009, speaking at the annual
Cowdrey Lecture at
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
, former Australian wicketkeeper
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer and List of Australia national cricket captains, captain of the Australia national cricket team. He was an attacking left-h ...
pushed for Twenty20 to be made an
Olympic sport
Olympic sports are sports that are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2024 Summer Olympics included 32 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented at the Internation ...
. "It would," he said, "be difficult to see a better, quicker or cheaper way of spreading the game throughout the world." This became a reality starting with the
2028 Summer Olympics
The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA 28, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place July 14–30, 2028, in the United States. Los Angeles ...
. T20 cricket has also been accepted into the
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...
and
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
.
Match format and rules
Format
Twenty20 match format is a form of
limited overs cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as white ball cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed within one day. There are a number of formats, including List A cricket (8-hour games), Twenty20 cricket (3-h ...
in that it involves two teams, each with a single
innings
An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...
. 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
The technical area in association football is the area at the side of the pitch which the teams' managers, other coaching personnel, and substitutes are allowed to occupy during a match.
The technical area usually includes a seated area referr ...
or a baseball
dugout.
General rules
The
Laws of Cricket
The ''Laws of Cricket'' is a code that specifies the rules of the game of cricket worldwide. The earliest known code was drafted in 1744. Since 1788, the code has been owned and maintained by the private Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in Lord's Cr ...
apply to Twenty20, with major exceptions:
* 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
Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, in which the fielding team put down the wicket of a batter who is outside their ground, usually because they are trying to score a run.
Run out is governed by Law 38 of the laws of cricket. If ...
,
hitting the ball twice or
obstructing the field
Obstructing the field is one of the ten methods of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. Either batsman can be given out if he wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action. It is Law 37 of the Laws of ...
.
* The following
fielding restrictions apply:
** No more than five fielders can be on the
leg side
The leg side, also called the on side, is a particular half of a cricket field.
A cricket field may be notionally divided into two halves, by an imaginary line running down the middle of the pitch, through the middle stumps, and out to the bou ...
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.
* If the fielding team does not start to bowl their 20th over within 75 minutes, the batting side is credited an extra six runs for every whole over bowled after the 75-minute mark; the umpire may add more time to this if they believe the batting team is wasting time.
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
or
Super Over:
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.
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. The latest Super Over to decide a match was between the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
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.
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.
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.
[Kendix, David]
ICC rankings for Tests, ODIs, Twenty20 & Women
. ''ESPN Cricinfo''. ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
The ICC Women's Rankings were launched in October 2015, which aggregated performance over all three forms of the game.
In October 2018, the ICC announced that the women's ranking would be split between ODIs and T20Is, and released both tables shortly thereafter.
Domestic professional T20 leagues

This is a list of the current Twenty20 domestic competitions in several of the leading cricket countries.
See also
*
List of Twenty20 cricket records
*
List of Twenty20 International records
*
100-ball cricket
**
The Hundred (cricket)
*
T10 cricket, the 10-over format of cricket
References
External links
Cricinfo – Twenty20 recordsCricinfoT20 – Twenty20 recordsIPL News 2021
{{Authority control