Short history of Twenty20

Twenty20 is a new style of game of the cricketing world. It was originated in the United Kingdom. They introduced the game for professional inter county competition in 2003. The game has each single innings for two teams, batting for maximum 20 overs.

Origin

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) discussed the idea of shortened overs format of cricket at a professional level in 1998 and 2001. In 2002, when ceased the Benson and Hedges Cup, ECB need another limited overs competition to fill it. The authorities were looking to boost popularity of the game with new generation. It was intended to deliver fast paced and exciting cricket actions. Stuart Robertson, marketing manager of the ECB, proposed a twenty 0vers per innings cricket. ECB voted and adopting the new format.

Twenty20 cricket was introduced in 2003. It was marketed was the slogan ‘I don’t like cricket, I love it’. The first official Twenty20 cricket match was played on June 13, 2003. The match was between Durham and Nottinghamshire.

International Twenty20

The first Twenty20 International was between Australia and New Zealand. The match was played at Eden Park, Auckland on February 17, 2005. It was part of Australian tour of New Zealand.

Teams played their debut T20Is.

New Zealand	17 February 2005
Australia	17 February 2005
England	13 June 2005
South Africa	21 October 2005
West Indies	16 February 2006
Sri Lanka	15 June 2006
Pakistan	28 August 2006
Bangladesh	28 November 2006
Zimbabwe	28 November 2006
India	1 December 2006
Kenya	1 September 2007
Scotland	12 September 2007
Netherlands	2 August 2008
Ireland	2 August 2008
Canada	2 August 2008
Bermuda	3 August 2008

Format

Twenty20 match is similar to limited overs cricket. The two teams have each with a single innings bats for a maximum of 20 overs. The batting team members do not arrive from and depart to traditional dressing rooms. They use a bench visible in the playing arena for its use.

General rules

• There are twenty overs each side.
• Each bowler may bowl a maximum of 4 overs.
• A bowler should deliver a no ball by overstepping the crease, it costs one run and his next delivery is ‘free hit’. The batsman can’t dismiss in the free hit ball except run out. The rare methods of dismissal, hitting the ball twice, obstructing the field or handling the ball, also apply to the free hit delivery.
• There are run penalties awarded by umpires at their discretion if they believe either team is wasting time.
• No more than give fielders can be on the leg side at any time.
• The first six overs have fielding restrictions. A maximum of two fielders can be outside the 30 yard circle.
• After the six overs, maximum of five fielders allowed outside the fielding circle.

Tie decide

If the match tied and there must be a winner, the tie is broken with a one over per side, Super Over. Each team nominates three batsmen and one bowler to play one over per side. The side with the higher score from Super Over wins the match. Previously Bowl-out was used for deciding the winner.

ICC World Twenty20

ICC introduced World Cup in 2007. The tournament is to take place every two years. The first tournament was in South Africa in the first edition. The second edition was held in England in 2009. The next edition will be held in West Indies in April-May 2010.

Champions Trophy20 League

It is a cricket action of clubs from different nations. The first edition was announced in December 2008. It was cancelled. The first edition was held at India on October 8-23, 2009.