Twenty20 International

A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). In the T20I format, each bowler is restricted to a maximum of four overs. A mandatory powerplay is taken during the first six overs of an innings.

Twenty20 International (Men)
A Twenty20 match at the Oval
Highest governing bodyInternational Cricket Council
NicknamesT20I
First played17 February 2005
Characteristics
Team membersICC members
Mixed-sexNo
Typeoutdoor
Equipmentball, bat, stumps, glove, pad, pad

The first T20I match took place on 17 February 2005 between Australia and New Zealand, with the first ICC T20 World Cup held in 2007. The matches were initially competed between the full members of the ICC and selected associate member teams. In April 2018, the ICC announced that it would grant T20I status to matches played amongst any of all its 105 members from 1 January 2019. As of October 2024, 95 nations feature in ICC T20I team rankings.[1] The number of matches of the format increased in the 2010s and more T20I matches (100) were played than ODI matches (99) for the first time in 2016.[2]

As of November 2024, India has the most number of wins (160) while Pakistan has played the most number of matches (247). Rohit Sharma of India holds the record for the most career runs (4,231) and Tim Southee of New Zealand holds the record for the most career wickets (164). The highest individual score is 172, made by Australia's Aaron Finch against Zimbabwe in 2018, while Malaysia's Syazrul Idrus recorded the best bowling figures of 7/8 against China in July 2023.

Origins

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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

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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

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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
Team Matches Points Rating
  India 70 18,747 268
  Australia 48 12,417 259
  England 45 11,497 255
  West Indies 57 14,234 250
  South Africa 46 11,345 247
  New Zealand 51 12,578 247
  Pakistan 54 12,758 236
  Sri Lanka 45 10,467 233
  Bangladesh 54 12,199 226
  Afghanistan 42 9,322 222
  Ireland 49 9,629 197
  Zimbabwe 57 11,182 196
  Scotland 27 5,151 191
  Netherlands 28 5,131 183
  Namibia 41 7,456 183
  United Arab Emirates 54 9,729 180
    Nepal 46 7,852 171
  United States 30 5,010 167
  Oman 47 7,494 159
  Papua New Guinea 31 4,472 144
  Canada 28 3,914 140
  Uganda 74 10,041 136
  Hong Kong 47 6,173 131
  Kuwait 43 5,307 123
  Malaysia 50 6,123 122
  Bahrain 44 5,192 118
  Jersey 26 3,063 118
  Qatar 31 3,555 115
  Bermuda 18 2,025 113
  Spain 22 2,442 111
  Italy 18 1,944 108
  Kenya 56 5,870 105
  Saudi Arabia 38 3,953 104
  Tanzania 47 4,301 92
  Germany 32 2,860 89
  Nigeria 49 3,835 78
  Guernsey 23 1,759 76
  Singapore 29 2,217 76
  Norway 20 1,444 72
  Cayman Islands 16 1,143 71
  Denmark 25 1,711 68
  Portugal 17 1,071 63
  Cambodia 28 1,745 62
  Isle of Man 14 857 61
  Japan 36 2,174 60
  Belgium 29 1,710 59
  Austria 30 1,691 56
  France 24 1,325 55
   Switzerland 17 934 55
  Botswana 38 1,976 52
  Cook Islands 9 426 47
  Romania 28 1,316 47
  Argentina 16 740 46
  Malawi 30 1,369 46
  Thailand 34 1,549 46
  Sweden 17 770 45
  Finland 21 950 45
  Bahamas 15 652 43
  Czech Republic 19 809 43
  Vanuatu 22 884 40
  Philippines 24 894 37
  Mozambique 21 751 36
  Fiji 11 387 35
  Rwanda 82 2,872 35
  Samoa 11 357 32
  Ghana 33 1,045 32
  Estonia 19 597 31
  Indonesia 46 1,444 31
  Sierra Leone 30 840 28
  Belize 10 274 27
  Luxembourg 28 753 27
  Malta 46 1,191 26
  Israel 7 178 25
  Gibraltar 31 615 20
  Hungary 17 336 20
  Slovenia 8 150 19
  Brazil 8 135 17
  Cyprus 17 272 16
  Mexico 16 221 14
  Bhutan 27 359 13
  Panama 17 214 13
  Croatia 17 167 10
  Eswatini 22 212 10
  Maldives 31 234 8
  Saint Helena 8 53 7
  Cameroon 15 99 7
  China 11 53 5
  Bulgaria 25 96 4
  Serbia 22 70 3
  Lesotho 16 3 0
  Mongolia 14 0 0
  Turkey 9 0 0
  South Korea 8 0 0
  Seychelles 10 0 0
  Myanmar 19 0 0
  Mali 11 0 0
  Greece 8 0 0
  Gambia 9 0 0
References: ICC T20I rankings, As of 15 December 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

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Permanent T20I status

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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 (teams in italics 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)
  103.   Ivory Coast (23 November 2024)
  104.   Suriname (6 December 2024)

Temporary T20I status (Defunct)

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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):

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

Cricket at international multi-sport events

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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] However, cricket has been finally admitted in 2028 Summer Games with 6 teams competing in t20I format in men's and women's event

Statistics

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Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell are the only players to score 5 T20I tons.

The highest team total in a T20I was made by Zimbabwe versus Gambia when they scored 344/4.[35] The lowest total was recorded in 2023, when Nigeria bowled out Ivory Coast for just 7 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 June 2024, Rohit Sharma has scored the most runs in the format.[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 taken in the format.[40]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Men's T20I Team Rankings". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  2. ^ "More results, more Rohit Sharma 2452 runs, and more T20Is than ODIs". ESPNcricinfo. 3 January 2017.
  3. ^ Birley, Derek (2003) [1999]. A Social History of English Cricket. Aurum Press. pp. 3–107. ISBN 1-85410-941-3.
  4. ^ Williamson, Martin (9 April 2011). "The low-key birth of one-day cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  5. ^ Williamson, Martin (22 June 2010). "The birth of the one-day international". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Cricket Max – The Game Invented By Martin Crowe". ESPNcricinfo. 2 February 1996. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  7. ^ "History of Twenty20 cricket". England and Wales Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  8. ^ Ramsay, Andrew (2006). "New Zealand v Australia". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  9. ^ English, Peter (18 February 2005). "Saved by Private Ricky". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  10. ^ "South Africa's Superman". ESPNcricinfo. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Records / 2005 / Twenty20 Internationals / Match results". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  12. ^ "WI beat NZ in historical tiebreaker". International Cricket Council. 26 December 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Is twenty plenty?". ESPNcricinfo. 24 March 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  14. ^ Premachandran, Dileep (26 September 2007). "Great win, but easy on the chest-thumping". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  15. ^ "Global Tournaments". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  16. ^ Gopalakrishna, HR; Vaghese, Mathew (11 September 2007). "Gayle and Gibbs run riot". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  17. ^ "(500) games of T20I cricket". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  18. ^ "Uniform DRS likely from October". ESPNcricinfo. 6 February 2017.
  19. ^ "ICC takes a huge decision which may slow down T20s". DNA India. 4 February 2017.
  20. ^ "Australia denied advantage of new rules". ESPNcricinfo. 8 October 2017.
  21. ^ "All T20 matches between ICC members to get international status". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  22. ^ "T20s between all ICC members to have international status". ESPNcricinfo. 26 April 2018.
  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. 1 (2). International Society of Olympic Historians: 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2008.
  28. ^ "Cricket unlikely at 2010 Games". ESPNcricinfo. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  29. ^ "Asian Games Men's Cricket Competition". ESPNcricinfo.
  30. ^ "Asian Games Men's Cricket Competition". ESPNcricinfo.
  31. ^ "India to skip Asian Games again". ESPNcricinfo. 1 August 2014.
  32. ^ "ICC rejects 2018 offer, cricket stays out of Commonwealth Games". Reuters. 24 July 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  33. ^ "Cricket gets Olympic approval". ESPNcricinfo. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  34. ^ "ICC's Richardson wants more teams in World T20". ESPNcricinfo. 3 April 2016.
  35. ^ "Records / Twenty20 Internationals / Team records / Highest innings totals". www.espncricinfo.com.
  36. ^ "Records / Twenty20 Internationals / Team records / Lowest innings totals". www.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  37. ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / Twenty20 Internationals / Team records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  38. ^ "Records / Twenty20 Internationals / Batting records / Most runs in career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  39. ^ "Records / Twenty20 Internationals / Batting records / Most runs in an innings". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  40. ^ "Records / Twenty20 Internatioոals / Bowling records / Most wickets in career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2020.