60-587: The T20 Blast , currently named the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket competition for English and Welsh first-class counties . The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003. It is the top-level Twenty20 competition in England and Wales. The competition has been known by a variety of names due to commercial sponsorship. It
120-417: A Twenty20 franchise elsewhere in the world and make far more money. 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. Ricky Ponting , In June 2009, speaking at
180-507: A baseball dugout . The Laws of cricket apply to Twenty20, with major exceptions: 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
240-654: A crowd of 27,509, the highest attendance for any county cricket game at the ground – other than a one-day final – since 1953. Thirteen teams from different parts of the country participated in Pakistan's inaugural competition in 2004, with the Faisalabad Wolves the first winners. On 12 January 2005 Australia's first Twenty20 game was played at the WACA Ground between the Western Warriors and
300-593: 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
360-467: A team. It's like having another man in your side." and the former England wicketkeeper Geraint Jones describes how "The crowd here makes such a big noise when you are doing well ... it's a unique environment". After winning the 2015 Ashes Test Match with Australia at Edgbaston, England captain Alastair Cook commented "The Edgbaston crowd was up there with the loudest I can remember. With some of
420-399: 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 . 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
480-412: Is a form of limited overs cricket in that it involves two teams, each with a single innings . 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 or
540-401: Is a shortened format of cricket . At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innings each, which is restricted to a maximum of twenty overs . Together with first-class and List A cricket, Twenty20 is one of the three forms of cricket recognised by
600-663: Is now the best ground outside Lord's". After the opening of the new South and West Stands in 2011 the England and Wales Cricket Board commented that "the spacious facilities are cutting edge, marginally better than the Home of Cricket". The atmosphere at Edgbaston is reputed to be the most hostile in England for visiting teams. Former England captain Alec Stewart recalled "On a world level I would put it up there with Eden Gardens in Calcutta, which holds about 100,000. It inspires
660-630: Is the fourth-largest cricketing venue in England, after Lord's, Old Trafford and The Oval . Edgbaston has played host to matches in major tournaments as it hosted matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 where England won its first World Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 where Pakistan won. Edgbaston also hosted the first women's T20 event at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games where Australia won
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#1732794005580720-461: 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 , who beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in England on 21 June 2009. The 2010 ICC World Twenty20 tournament
780-695: The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 . The Board of Control for Cricket in India started the Indian Premier League 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 for US$ 2.55 billion, making it one of
840-488: The International Cricket Council (ICC) as being played at the highest level, both internationally and domestically. A typical Twenty20 game is completed in about three and a half 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
900-642: 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 and South Africa met in the first international Twenty20 game in Australia. In a first, each player's nickname appeared on the back of his uniform, rather than his surname. The international match drew a crowd of 38,894 people at The Gabba . On 16 February 2006 New Zealand defeated West Indies in
960-664: The Stanford Super Series in the Caribbean. After the collapse of Stanford's series, the proposals were scrapped. Instead of a modified 40 over league, the Clydesdale Bank 40 was implemented. The Friends Provident T20 (renamed the FriendsLife T20 after just one season) was introduced in 2010 . The competition initially divided the eighteen counties into North and South groups, before reverting to
1020-543: 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 $ 28 million in funding money. It was intended that the tournament would be an annual event. Guyana won
1080-490: 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 . Several commentators have noted that
1140-518: 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 and Pakistan on 6 June 2024, in the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, with
1200-717: 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 , on
1260-469: 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 . 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 . In November 2011, the ICC released the first Twenty20 International rankings for
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#17327940055801320-493: The annual Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's , former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist pushed for Twenty20 to be made an Olympic sport . "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 . T20 cricket has also been accepted into the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games . Twenty20 match format
1380-510: The chants, even guys who have played a fair bit of cricket were looking at each other and realising how special it was. Edgbaston has been a fantastic venue for us." The record attendance at a County Championship match at Edgbaston is 28,000 against Lancashire in the championship-winning season of 1951, and the record for a single day of a test match is 32,000 against the West Indies in 1957. For some years until 2000, Edgbaston had
1440-616: The club erected a permanent stand, two temporary stands and facilities for 90 members of the press. These developments cost a total of £1,500, however, and Warwickshire's share of the tour funds was only £750. The first piece of development in the post-war era was the construction of the Rea Bank and the Thwaite Memorial Scoreboard in 1950. In 1956 an Indoor Cricket School was built and the Pavilion Suite
1500-613: The competition for four years, with the competition becoming known as the Vitality Blast. The most recent iteration, the 2023 Vitality Blast, was the 20th season of the domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in England and Wales. The tournament started on 20 May 2023 and ended on 15 July 2023, when Somerset were crowned the champions. There are 18 teams that compete in the tournament, divided into two groups of nine. Each team plays 14 group games, playing six teams in their group twice (both home and away) and two teams once (one at home,
1560-482: The competition, securing $ 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 $ 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. Several T20 leagues started after the popularity of
1620-652: The county and Test status for the ground. The club had initially favoured the Wycliffe Ground on Pershore Road, but were instead offered a 12-acre "meadow of rough grazing land" in an undeveloped area on the banks of the River Rea by the Calthorpe Estate – the less attractive development land having more to gain from association with the cricket ground. With the site only 20 minutes' walk from New Street Station , Warwickshire agreed in 1885 to lease
1680-662: The delay in the start of the season because of the COVID-19 pandemic , matches started on 27 August in a three division format, with the quarter finals played on 1 October and the semi-finals and finals on 4 October (postponed due to rain on the third). Finals day has been held annually towards the end of the English cricket season. Twenty20 First-class cricket One Day International Limited overs (domestic) Twenty20 International Twenty20 (domestic) Other forms Twenty20 (abbreviated T20 )
1740-465: The end of 2009, the ECB had decided to implement a larger competition for the T20 format of the game. The Twenty20 English Premier League was a proposed cricket league to be run by the ECB consisting of 18 county teams and two overseas teams divided into two divisions with promotion and relegation. The proposal was influenced by the success of the Indian Premier League and by Allen Stanford who had organised
1800-630: 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 in 2016. The Mzansi Super League in South Africa 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: In the Big Bash League, there is an additional match to determine which of
1860-455: The fourth- or fifth-placed teams will qualify to be in the top four. The first Twenty20 International match was held on 5 August 2004 between the England and New Zealand women's teams, with New Zealand winning by nine runs. On 17 February 2005 Australia defeated New Zealand in the first men's international Twenty20 match, played at Eden Park in Auckland . The game was played in
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1920-539: 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. This is a list of the current Twenty20 domestic competitions in several of the leading cricket countries. Edgbaston Cricket Ground Edgbaston Cricket Ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham , England, is home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club and its T20 team Birmingham Bears . Edgbaston has also been
1980-503: The games, the most in the competition's history. The tournament was won in 2014 by the Birmingham Bears , Warwickshire County Cricket Club's name for the purposes of Twenty20 cricket, making it the first time a county trophy had been won by a team using a city name. The final victors of this branding of the tournament in 2017 were Notts Outlaws . Vitality became the tournament sponsors in 2018, signing an initial deal to sponsor
2040-551: The gold medal match. Edgbaston was the venue of the first senior game under floodlights in English cricket in 1997, between Warwickshire and Somerset in the AXA Life Sunday League , and hosted the first day/night Test match in England in 2017 when England played the West Indies . The land that now makes up Edgbaston Cricket Ground was originally owned by the Calthorpe Estate , who have now sold
2100-659: The inaugural event, defeating Trinidad and Tobago by five wickets, securing $ 1 million in prize money. On 5 January 2007 the Queensland Bulls played the New South Wales Blues at The 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. For the February 2008 Twenty20 match between Australia and India, 85,824 people attended
2160-553: The land for £5 per acre over a 21-year period. A further £1,250 was spent on draining and enclosing the site and building a wooden pavilion. The new ground's first match took place on 7 June 1886 against the MCC , watched by 3,000 spectators over two days, with 6,000 turning out on 9 and 10 August to watch Warwickshire play Australia . Edgbaston's first Test match was the first in The Ashes series against Australia in 1902, for which
2220-499: The longer versions of the game. Stuart Robertson, the marketing manager of the ECB, proposed a 20-over per innings game to county chairmen in 2001, and they voted 11–7 in favour of adopting the new format. The first Twenty20 Cup was held in 2003 and was marketed with the slogan "I don't like cricket, I love it" – a line from the cricket-themed pop song Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc . The first official Twenty20 Cup matches were played on 13 June 2003. The first season of Twenty20 in England
2280-693: The match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , 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 and Trinidad and Tobago , and a Stanford Superstars team formed from West Indies domestic players. Trinidad and Tobago won
2340-576: 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. The ICC Women's Rankings were launched in October 2015, which aggregated performance over all three forms of
2400-550: The new South and West Stands starting in April 2010 and reaching completion 66 weeks later. 5 permanent floodlight pylons were erected around the ground at the same time, allowing up to 15 days of day-night cricket annually. The new development was officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh on 25 July 2011. The first test match to be played at the redeveloped venue was the third Test vs India on 10 August 2011, which saw England reach
2460-599: The new format. The first official Twenty20 matches were played on 13 June 2003 between the English counties in the Twenty20 Cup . 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 , on 15 July 2004 between Middlesex and Surrey , attracted
T20 Blast - Misplaced Pages Continue
2520-550: The number 1 position in the ICC Test Championship for the first time with victory by an innings and 242 runs on the fourth day of the match. Edgbaston is considered to be one of England's leading cricket grounds. Wisden ' s guide to cricket grounds in 1992 commented that " Lord's is really its only superior in the United Kingdom" with The Daily Telegraph agreeing in 2009 that "taken all in all, it
2580-488: The number of T20I matches played across the world. Every two years an ICC World Twenty20 tournament is to take place, except in the event of an ICC Cricket World Cup 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 defeated Pakistan in the final. Two Associate teams had played in the first tournament, selected through
2640-522: 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
2700-404: The other away). The top four teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals, with the four winners progressing to finals day. The 18 first-class counties compete for the title, initially playing in two or three geographical divisions, the number varying across the years. In 2018, matches were moved to be played in a block during July and August with the aim of attracting large crowds during
2760-753: 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 captains Clive Lloyd , Michael Holding and Garfield Sobers 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 and Dwayne Bravo preferring instead to play in
2820-422: The previous model of three divisions of six teams. This period of Twenty20 cricket in England and Wales saw Leicestershire and Hampshire becoming the most successful sides, and in 2013 Northants won their first trophy for two decades. NatWest became the tournament sponsors in 2014, renewing the bank's longstanding relationship with the county game. The first year of the tournament saw 700,000 spectators attend
2880-539: 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 (red cards are not normally used in cricket) in response. The first Twenty20 international in England was played between England and Australia at
2940-493: The school summer holidays. In seasons with three divisions the top two teams in each division and the two best third place teams qualify for the playoff stage, in seasons with two divisions the top four teams in each division qualify for the playoff stage, with a set of quarter-finals leaving four teams in the competition. The two semi-finals and the final are played on one finals day at Edgbaston in September. In 2020, due to
3000-580: The site onto Wylam Investments (Edgbaston Holdings) on a long lease. Calthorpe Estates had developed the manor of Edgbaston into an exclusive Birmingham suburb over the course of the 19th century, and believed that a cricket ground would be an asset that would add to the genteel image of the area. Warwickshire County Cricket Club had considered Rugby and Leamington Spa for their headquarters, but club secretary William Ansell believed that Birmingham's large population and comprehensive railway connections made it preferable – envisaging first-class status for
3060-521: The south side of the ground was completely redeveloped between 2010 and 2011 at a cost of £32 million, partly paid for from a £20 million loan from Birmingham City Council , bringing the ground's capacity up to 25,000. Demolition of the pavilion – parts of which dated back to the 1890s – and the Leslie Deakins, R. V. Ryder and William Ansell Stands took place in January 2010, with construction of
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#17327940055803120-689: The venue for Test matches , One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals . Edgbaston has hosted the T20 Finals Day more than any other cricket ground. Edgbaston is the main home ground for the Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred competition from 2021. Edgbaston was the first English ground outside Lord's to host a major international one-day tournament final when it hosted the ICC Champions Trophy final in 2013. With permanent seating for approximately 25,000 spectators, it
3180-442: 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
3240-470: 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
3300-544: Was a success, with the Surrey Lions defeating the Warwickshire Bears by nine wickets in the final to win the first Twenty20 Cup Final. On 15 July 2004 Middlesex versus Surrey (the first Twenty20 Cup game to be held at Lord's ) attracted a crowd of 26,500, the largest attendance for any county cricket game other than a one-day final since 1953. The tournament saw six different winners in its seven years. By
3360-726: Was completed in the same year. By the time the William Ansell Stand opened in 1967 the facilities at Edgbaston were considered to rival those at Lord's . In 1989 executive boxes were added to the rear of the Priory and Raglan Stands and the Stanley Barnes Stand was reconstructed and enlarged, expanding the ground capacity of 17,500. In July 1997, Edgbaston was the scene of the first competitive floodlit day-night cricket match in Britain. The pavilion end on
3420-621: 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 . In June 2021, the ICC expanded the Twenty20 World Cup from 16 to 20 teams starting from the 2024 edition onwards. 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
3480-512: Was held in the West Indies in May 2010, where England defeated Australia by seven wickets. The 2012 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. The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 was won by Sri Lanka, by defeating India at the finals, where the tournament
3540-425: 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 -playing nations have a domestic cup competition. When the Benson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the ECB sought another one-day competition to fill with
3600-569: Was known as the Twenty20 Cup from 2003 to 2009, the Friends Provident t20 and Friends Life t20 from 2010 to 2013, and the Natwest t20 Blast from 2014 to 2017. The competition has been sponsored by insurance company Vitality since 2018 and is known as the Vitality Blast . 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
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