What’s T20 Cricket? A Guide for Americans

Sports are perplexing. Take cricket for example—watching grown men hit a ball with a bat should not be interesting. But apparently it is (see baseball). And in our increasingly interconnected world, we’re now being subjected to each other’s follies. Case in point—the US is expected to cohost the T20 (Cricket) World Cup in 2024! What’s T20 cricket? Let’s call this an early primer, in case you opted to catch the 2022 tournament as well.

 

Cricket Basics

The United Kingdom—prior to being relegated to just another bunch of North Atlantic islands—wreaked all sorts of havoc on the world. Its gifts to humanity ranged anywhere from the English language to railroads to premature death. But perhaps the most baffling contribution of all is cricket, a game that revolves around a flat-faced willow-wood bat, a leather-covered ball, and three vertical stumps loosely joined at their top by two horizontal bails, together called the wicket.

Played on a large oval pitch, the heart of the action takes place in a central rectangle, bounded on either end by a set of wickets that are protected by two batsmen working in partnership. A bowler (think pitcher) delivers six balls (termed one over) in one direction, followed by another bowler who delivers the next six balls in the opposite direction (and so on).

In a test match, the goal of the 11 men on the bowling team is to get 10 batsmen out (as the 11th batsman cannot bat alone), thereby ending the innings (a term that in this case is used as both singular and plural). The teams then switch roles, with this back and forth occurring for a total of four innings (two innings for each side). The team with the most runs when it’s all said and done—up to five days later—is the winner.

Runs can be scored by running to the other end of the rectangle upon making contact (one run for each time across), hitting a ball that rolls all the way to the oval boundary (four runs), and hitting a ball that crosses the boundary in the air akin to a baseball home run (six runs).

A batsman can make an out in several ways, with the most common including being caught (think flyout), being bowled out (if a delivered ball hits the wicket and dislodges at least one bail—think strike out), illegally blocking the wicket with either leg, and being run out (if the fielding team retrieves a hit ball and knocks a bail off the wicket prior to the runner reaching that destination—think ground out).

Of course, nuances abound, but this degree of knowledge is sufficient to absorb what comes next.

 

The Transition to T20

In addition to the never-ending nature of test matches, other curiosities surround the traditional proceedings. One is the uniforms, comprised of apparently-stylish sweaters and occasionally-tight white pants. Another is the custom of taking dedicated breaks for…tea. Given such peculiarities, it was only natural for insiders within the sport to lead it down a path of modernization.

In the 1950s, a shortened form of the game was introduced, this one limited by the number of overs that each side could face. As above, each over consists of six balls, and matches were capped at 50 overs (300 balls) per side, meaning that a match could easily conclude within one day. By the 1970s, the format had made its way into international competition.

With the continued success of limited overs cricket, further attempts at shortening the game followed. In 2003, a version limited to 20 overs (120 balls) per side reached the professional level, translating into matches that lasted under three hours. Termed Twenty20 cricket, or T20 for short, the fast-paced, 21st-century-ready format was primed for growth.

By 2007, a World Cup featuring T20 (referenced above) was introduced, paving the way for widespread acceptance and the proliferation of numerous domestic leagues. The most successful of these leagues is the Indian Premier League (IPL), consisting of 10 teams and generating annual revenue in the range of $7 billion, placing it in the conversation with the likes of the English Premier League (EPL) and National Basketball Association (NBA). In keeping with the focus on modernity, it’s not uncommon to see the pitch rimmed with imported and scantily-clad cheerleaders, a far cry from the sweater-centric stodginess that brought the game to the mainstream.

Many within the sport are convinced that given T20’s uncanny ability to attract revenue from broadcast rights and corporate sponsors, it could become the dominant form of the game in the not-so-distant future.

 

A Little Prep

As mentioned at the outset, no one is safe from T20 at this point. To prep for the future, here’s an extremely brief look at the 2022 T20 World Cup, which took place across seven Australian cities from mid-October to mid-November.

Sixteen sides—the vast majority having been British possessions at one point or another—were invited to participate. The list included Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Scotland, the West Indies (a hodgepodge of Caribbean entities), New Zealand, England, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, India, South Africa, and Pakistan.

Eight sides competed in a preliminary round, with only four advancing to join the other eight sides, yielding the so-called Super 12. These 12 sides were divided into two groups of six, and within each group, each side played the other five teams. Ultimately, the top two from each group advanced to the semifinals for a single-elimination tournament that determined the winner.

Pakistan defeated New Zealand in one semifinal and went on to face England, who had defeated India in the other semifinal.

And the winner: the one who created all this in the first place—England!

 

So there you have it. Yet another way to entertain yourself in these highly globalized times. Thank you, T20 cricket, for helping us not achieve our goals.