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Twenty20 (abbreviatedT20) is a shortened format ofcricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by theEngland and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for theinter-county competition.[1] In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a singleinnings each, which is restricted to a maximum of twentyovers. Together withfirst-class andList A cricket, Twenty20 is one of the threeforms of cricket recognised by theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) as being played at the highest level, both internationally and domestically.
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 allTest-playing nations have a domestic cup competition.

When theBenson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002, theECB 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 cricketerMartin 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 theTwenty20 Cup.[5] The first season of Twenty20 in England was a relative success, with theSurrey Lions defeating theWarwickshire Bears by nine wickets in the final to claim the title.[6] The first Twenty20 match held atLord's, on 15 July 2004 betweenMiddlesex andSurrey, attracted a crowd of 27,509, the highest attendance for anycounty cricket game at the ground – other than a one-day final – since 1953.[7]
Thirteen teams from different parts of the country participated in Pakistan's inaugural competition in 2004, with theFaisalabad Wolves the first winners. On 12 January 2005 Australia's first Twenty20 game was played at theWACA Ground between theWestern Warriors and theVictorian 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 theStanford 20/20 tournament. The event was financially backed by billionaireAllen 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, defeatingTrinidad and Tobago by five wickets, securing US$1 million in prize money.[9][10]
On 5 January 2007 theQueensland Bulls played theNew South Wales Blues atThe 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 theMelbourne Cricket Ground, involving theTwenty20 World Champions[12] against theODI World Champions.[13]
TheStanford Super Series was held in October 2008 between the three teams. The respective winners of the English and Caribbean Twenty20 competitions,Middlesex andTrinidad and Tobago, and aStanford 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]

Several T20 leagues started after the popularity of the2007 ICC World Twenty20.[18] TheBoard of Control for Cricket in India started theIndian Premier League popularly known asIPL, which is now the largest cricket league, in 2008, which utilizes theNorth 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 toStar 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 the10th edition, according to global valuation and corporate finance advisor Duff & Phelps.[21]
TheBig Bash League,Bangladesh Premier League,Pakistan Super League,Caribbean Premier League, andAfghanistan Premier League started thereafter, following similar formulae, and remained popular with the fans.[22][23] TheWomen's Big Bash League was started in 2015 by Cricket Australia, while theKia Super League was started inEngland and Wales in 2016. TheMzansi Super League inSouth Africa was started in 2018.
Several T20 leagues[24] follow the general format of having a group stage followed by aPage 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]
The first Twenty20 International match was held on 5 August 2004 between theEngland andNew Zealand women's teams, with New Zealand winning by nine runs.[26]
On 17 February 2005Australia defeatedNew Zealand in the first men's international Twenty20 match, played atEden Park inAuckland. 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 theBeige 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 theTrevor Chappellunderarm incident from a 1981 ODI between the two sides, andBilly Bowden showed him a mockred card (red cards are not normally used in cricket) in response.[citation needed]
On 16 February 2006 New Zealand defeatedWest Indies in a tie-breakingbowl-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]
Every two years anICC World Twenty20 tournament is to take place, except in the event of anICC Cricket World Cup being scheduled in the same year, in which case it will be held the year before. The first tournament was in2007 in South Africa whereIndia defeatedPakistan in the final. Two Associate teams had played in the first tournament, selected through the2007 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 the2009 World Twenty20 and would each receive $250,000 in prize money.[31] Thesecond tournament was won byPakistan, who beatSri Lanka by eight wickets in England on 21 June 2009. The2010 ICC World Twenty20 tournament was held in the West Indies in May 2010, whereEngland defeatedAustralia by seven wickets. The2012 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. The2014 ICC World Twenty20 was won by Sri Lanka, by defeating India at the finals, where the tournament was held in Bangladesh. The2016 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 theCOVID-19 pandemic.
In June 2021, the ICC expanded the Twenty20 World Cup from 16 to 20 teams starting from the 2024 edition onwards.[32]
Twenty20 cricket is claimed to have resulted in a more athletic and explosive form of cricket. Indian fitness coachRamji 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 theIndian 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 asT10 cricket and100-ball cricket,[36] and its impact on cricket has been compared to or served as inspiration for innovations in other sports, such as with the3x3 variant of basketball or the IndianPro Kabaddi League.[37]
Former Australian captainRicky 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 captainGreg Chappell made similar complaints, fearing that young players would play too much T20 and not develop their batting skills fully, while former England playerAlex Tudor feared the same for bowling skills.[39][40]
FormerWest Indies captainsClive Lloyd,Michael Holding andGarfield Sobers criticised Twenty20 for its role in discouraging players from representing their test cricket national side, with many West Indies players likeChris Gayle,Sunil Narine,Jason Holder andDwayne 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 playersTrent Boult andJimmy 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.
In June 2009, speaking at the annualCowdrey Lecture atLord's, former Australian wicketkeeperAdam Gilchrist pushed for Twenty20 to be made anOlympic 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 the2028 Summer Olympics. T20 cricket has also been accepted into theAsian Games andCommonwealth Games.[50]
Twenty20 match format is a form oflimited overs cricket in that it involves two teams, each with a singleinnings. The key feature is that each team bats for a maximum of 20overs (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'stechnical area or a baseballdugout.[51]

TheLaws of Cricket apply to Twenty20, with some variations depending on the exact competition rules. The most common include:[52][better source needed]
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] orSuper 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 theBig 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 theUnited States andPakistan on 6 June 2024, in the2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup atGrand 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 abowl-out.[59]
Women's andmen's Twenty20 Internationals have been played since 2004 and 2005 respectively. To date, 76 nations have played the format, including allTest-playing nations.
| Nation | Date of men's T20I debut | Date of women's T20I debut |
|---|---|---|
| 17 February 2005 | 2 September 2005 | |
| 17 February 2005 | 5 August 2004 | |
| 13 June 2005 | 5 August 2004 | |
| 21 October 2005 | 10 August 2007 | |
| 16 February 2006 | 27 June 2008 | |
| 15 June 2006 | 12 June 2009 | |
| 28 August 2006 | 25 May 2009 | |
| 28 November 2006 | 27 August 2012 | |
| 28 November 2006 | 5 January 2019 | |
| 1 December 2006 | 5 August 2006 | |
| 1 September 2007 | 6 April 2019 | |
| 12 September 2007 | 7 July 2018 | |
| 2 August 2008 | 27 June 2008 | |
| 2 August 2008 | 27 June 2008 | |
| 2 August 2008 | 17 May 2019 | |
| 3 August 2008 | ||
| 2 February 2010 | ||
| 16 March 2014 | 12 January 2019 | |
| 16 March 2014 | 12 January 2019 | |
| 17 March 2014 | 7 July 2018 | |
| 15 July 2015 | 7 July 2018 | |
| 25 July 2015 | 17 January 2020 | |
| 19 October 2021 | 20 August 2018 | |
| 16 October 2021 | 20 August 2018 | |
| 9 October 2022 | 3 November 2018 | |
| 26 July 2023 | 3 November 2018 | |
| 9 October 2022 | 12 January 2019 | |
| 26 July 2023 | 12 January 2019 | |
| 5 December 2019 | 13 January 2019 | |
| 20 January 2019 | 20 March 2022 | |
| 20 January 2019 | 20 March 2022 | |
| 20 January 2019 | 18 February 2019 | |
| 20 January 2019 | 2 December 2019 | |
| 21 January 2019 | 17 January 2020 | |
| 18 August 2021 | 26 January 2019 | |
| 15 March 2019 | 17 May 2019 | |
| 22 March 2019 | 21 December 2019 | |
| 22 March 2019 | 6 May 2019 | |
| 29 March 2019 | 5 May 2022 | |
| 29 March 2019 | 27 August 2022 | |
| 25 April 2019 | 23 August 2018 | |
| 25 April 2019 | 13 December 2019 | |
| 25 April 2019 | 26 April 2019 | |
| 25 April 2019 | ||
| 9 October 2022 | 6 May 2019 | |
| 9 September 2022 | 6 May 2019 | |
| 2 November 2021 | 6 May 2019 | |
| 11 May 2019 | 25 September 2021 | |
| 11 May 2019 | 26 June 2019 | |
| 20 May 2019 | 7 July 2018 | |
| 20 May 2019 | 26 January 2019 | |
| 20 May 2019 | 28 March 2022 | |
| 20 May 2019 | 20 August 2018 | |
| 20 May 2019 | 20 August 2018 | |
| 25 May 2019 | 9 August 2021 | |
| 31 May 2019 | 31 May 2019 | |
| 31 May 2019 | 31 May 2019 | |
| 15 June 2019 | 31 July 2019 | |
| 16 June 2019 | 28 May 2022 | |
| 17 November 2021 | 18 June 2019 | |
| 24 June 2019 | 3 June 2018 | |
| 24 June 2019 | 3 June 2018 | |
| 8 July 2019 | 6 May 2019 | |
| 13 July 2019 | ||
| 22 July 2019 | 9 August 2018 | |
| 5 August 2021 | 31 July 2019 | |
| 18 August 2019 | 26 September 2024 | |
| 29 August 2019 | 31 July 2019 | |
| 29 August 2019 | 27 August 2022 | |
| 29 August 2019 | ||
| 29 August 2019 | 29 May 2023 | |
| 30 August 2019 | ||
| 3 October 2019 | 3 October 2019 | |
| 3 October 2019 | 23 August 2018 | |
| 3 October 2019 | 23 August 2018 | |
| 3 October 2019 | 3 October 2019 | |
| 14 October 2019 | ||
| 14 October 2019 | 10 September 2022 | |
| 15 October 2019 | 9 September 2022 | |
| 25 October 2019 | ||
| 26 October 2019 | ||
| 6 November 2019 | 20 August 2018 | |
| 6 November 2019 | 20 August 2018 |
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]
| Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | 18,251 | 272 | |
| 42 | 11,199 | 267 | |
| 45 | 11,609 | 258 | |
| 53 | 13,318 | 251 | |
| 49 | 11,751 | 240 | |
| 61 | 14,424 | 236 | |
| 71 | 16,692 | 235 | |
| 45 | 10,232 | 227 | |
| 64 | 14,269 | 223 | |
| 45 | 9,895 | 220 | |
| 34 | 6,821 | 201 | |
| 65 | 13,013 | 200 | |
| 35 | 6,366 | 182 | |
| 23 | 4,178 | 182 | |
| 35 | 6,344 | 181 | |
| 60 | 10,584 | 176 | |
| 42 | 7,384 | 176 | |
| 33 | 5,769 | 175 | |
| 35 | 5,374 | 154 | |
| 47 | 7,140 | 152 | |
| 56 | 7,952 | 142 | |
| 20 | 2,718 | 136 | |
| 42 | 5,441 | 130 | |
| 52 | 6,602 | 127 | |
| 54 | 6,678 | 124 | |
| 65 | 7,747 | 119 | |
| 24 | 2,819 | 117 | |
| 15 | 1,725 | 115 | |
| 41 | 4,666 | 114 | |
| 27 | 3,040 | 113 | |
| 17 | 1,872 | 110 | |
| 39 | 4,245 | 109 | |
| 48 | 5,074 | 106 | |
| 41 | 4,082 | 100 | |
| 22 | 1,924 | 87 | |
| 43 | 3,377 | 79 | |
| 37 | 2,844 | 77 | |
| 27 | 2,071 | 77 | |
| 26 | 1,921 | 74 | |
| 57 | 4,054 | 71 | |
| 18 | 1,262 | 70 | |
| 30 | 2,095 | 70 | |
| 20 | 1,333 | 67 | |
| 38 | 2,518 | 66 | |
| 36 | 2,059 | 57 | |
| 24 | 1,365 | 57 | |
| 22 | 1,086 | 49 | |
| 23 | 1,130 | 49 | |
| 13 | 627 | 48 | |
| 22 | 1,048 | 48 | |
| 43 | 2,019 | 47 | |
| 33 | 1,547 | 47 | |
| 13 | 604 | 46 | |
| 24 | 1,109 | 46 | |
| 36 | 1,654 | 46 | |
| 34 | 1,544 | 45 | |
| 23 | 972 | 42 | |
| 22 | 911 | 41 | |
| 14 | 552 | 39 | |
| 22 | 827 | 38 | |
| 64 | 2,343 | 37 | |
| 11 | 387 | 35 | |
| 16 | 561 | 35 | |
| 24 | 789 | 33 | |
| 67 | 2,128 | 32 | |
| 19 | 570 | 30 | |
| 17 | 504 | 30 | |
| 33 | 971 | 29 | |
| 23 | 672 | 29 | |
| 24 | 665 | 28 | |
| 41 | 1,085 | 26 | |
| 20 | 518 | 26 | |
| 19 | 491 | 26 | |
| 7 | 178 | 25 | |
| 15 | 318 | 21 | |
| 8 | 164 | 21 | |
| 26 | 494 | 19 | |
| 24 | 432 | 18 | |
| 13 | 218 | 17 | |
| 21 | 336 | 16 | |
| 18 | 287 | 16 | |
| 8 | 119 | 15 | |
| 30 | 315 | 11 | |
| 21 | 214 | 10 | |
| 10 | 94 | 9 | |
| 11 | 86 | 8 | |
| 29 | 191 | 7 | |
| 24 | 144 | 6 | |
| 16 | 94 | 6 | |
| 8 | 44 | 6 | |
| 6 | 29 | 5 | |
| 11 | 24 | 2 | |
| 12 | 26 | 2 | |
| 8 | 6 | 1 | |
| 18 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| 21 | 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| Source:ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings, 25 November 2025 Seepoints calculations for more details. | |||
| Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 9,260 | 299 | |
| 46 | 12,751 | 277 | |
| 44 | 11,581 | 263 | |
| 34 | 8,600 | 253 | |
| 33 | 7,954 | 241 | |
| 35 | 8,433 | 241 | |
| 38 | 8,672 | 228 | |
| 36 | 7,790 | 216 | |
| 39 | 7,818 | 200 | |
| 34 | 6,535 | 192 | |
| 27 | 4,332 | 160 | |
| 50 | 7,787 | 156 | |
| 31 | 4,567 | 147 | |
| 35 | 4,587 | 131 | |
| 41 | 5,272 | 129 | |
| 48 | 6,078 | 127 | |
| 67 | 7,538 | 113 | |
| 52 | 5,803 | 112 | |
| 37 | 3,905 | 106 | |
| 29 | 2,834 | 98 | |
| 41 | 3,788 | 92 | |
| 54 | 4,782 | 89 | |
| 33 | 2,891 | 88 | |
| 59 | 4,901 | 83 | |
| 22 | 1,725 | 78 | |
| 36 | 2,694 | 75 | |
| 35 | 2,626 | 75 | |
| 12 | 863 | 72 | |
| 41 | 2,832 | 69 | |
| 26 | 1,688 | 65 | |
| 17 | 1,067 | 63 | |
| 30 | 1,870 | 62 | |
| 17 | 1,049 | 62 | |
| 33 | 1,850 | 56 | |
| 32 | 1,699 | 53 | |
| 27 | 1,249 | 46 | |
| 24 | 1,093 | 46 | |
| 30 | 1,312 | 44 | |
| 33 | 1,377 | 42 | |
| 32 | 1,322 | 41 | |
| 18 | 712 | 40 | |
| 23 | 908 | 39 | |
| 15 | 535 | 36 | |
| 13 | 442 | 34 | |
| 27 | 914 | 34 | |
| 23 | 709 | 31 | |
| 35 | 1,077 | 31 | |
| 22 | 668 | 30 | |
| 11 | 322 | 29 | |
| 26 | 662 | 25 | |
| 14 | 352 | 25 | |
| 6 | 150 | 25 | |
| 12 | 290 | 24 | |
| 10 | 237 | 24 | |
| 32 | 639 | 20 | |
| 20 | 398 | 20 | |
| 16 | 277 | 17 | |
| 19 | 322 | 17 | |
| 23 | 376 | 16 | |
| 22 | 358 | 16 | |
| 20 | 301 | 15 | |
| 17 | 246 | 14 | |
| 24 | 342 | 14 | |
| 17 | 200 | 12 | |
| 21 | 226 | 11 | |
| 15 | 149 | 10 | |
| 24 | 160 | 7 | |
| 10 | 50 | 5 | |
| 40 | 194 | 5 | |
| 21 | 54 | 3 | |
| 14 | 6 | 0 | |
| 17 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| 19 | 0 | 0 | |
| 19 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | 0 | 0 | |
| Source:ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings, 25 November 2025 | |||


This is a list of the current Twenty20 domestic competitions in several of the leading cricket countries.
On average, an ICC Men's T20 World Cup match is approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes in duration.