ICC Men’s T20 World Cup

Acronym: ICC T20

Tournament Administrator: International Cricket Council (ICC)

Cricket Forms: T20I

Current Champion: England cricket team

Nearest Tournament: 16 October 2022 - 13 November 2022

Format Tournament: Group stage and knockout

Numbers Of Team: 16

ICC Men's T20 World Cup: the main t20 cricket competition

This is the main tournament in the Twenty20 International format. Sixteen teams play at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 10 of which are ranked, and six more are added from the qualification. Usually, this championship was held every two years, but after the 2016 season, no game has been played yet.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: general information

This tournament appeared because the Twenty20 format began to gain popularity. For the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup organizers, it was important that the event did not overlap with the timing of the Men’s Cricket World Cup. The International Cricket Council decided to hold the main tournament in the world of cricket in March 2007. The debut ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was scheduled for autumn. Since the 2010 season, the championships have been held in different years.

The first official matches in the Twenty20 International format took place in the summer of 2003. English clubs have come together in them. In 2004, the first championship in a new format was held in Foggy Albion. It was successful in terms of audience interest. 27.5 thousand people watched the events of the opening match in the stands of Lord’s Cricket Ground. This was a record number of viewers since 1953. Gradually, the Twenty20 International format took root in other countries. So, competitions began to be held in the West Indies and Pakistan. In 2006, billionaire Allen Stanford allocated $28 million to host the Stanford 20/20 tournament in the West Indies. Initially, it was assumed that the competitions would be annual, but only two games took place in the end.

The Stanford Super Series tournament was also played in the West Indies. It was attended by the Middlesex club, the Trinidad and Tobago team, as well as Stanford Superstars (the best players from the West Indies were in the squad). Then it was planned that Stanford Superstars would play with the England national team. Allen Stanford promised that the winner would receive a large amount of prize money. But in the end, some circumstances prevented the tournament from being held.

In 2005, the first Twenty20 International match was held between full members of the International Cricket Council. The national teams of New Zealand and Australia met at Eden Park (Auckland, New Zealand). The initiator of the match was the hosts, who offered the neighbors to hold it in the style of the 80s. As a result, the audience witnessed the show to a greater extent, rather than a serious cricket match. The Australians were confident in the score, so both the cricketers and the umpires began to play for the audience at the end of the match.

In 2008, the Indian Premier League was held for the first time in India in the Twenty20 International format. Usually, the tournament is played every year, from spring to summer. It involves eight strong teams. Since the Indian championship is considered the strongest among the club (the brand value in 2013 was estimated at US$3.03 billion), a lot of attention of fans and specialists around the world is focused on the championship. In the 2010 season, the Indian Premier League made history. It was this tournament that turned out to be the first whose matches could legally be watched live on YouTube.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: format

In the final part of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, all full members of the International Cricket Council pass. An exception was made only in 2019 when the Irish national team played in the qualification. In 2007, there was no full qualification for the championship. It was held as part of WCL Division One. With the Men’s T20 World Cup 2009, a qualifying stage appeared. The number of participants in the qualification was constantly changing:

• In the 2008 season, six national teams participated in the qualification. They were divided into two groups of three teams. The top two went to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
• In 2010, eight teams were allowed to enter the tournament. This time, two groups of four participants were created. Two of the best advanced to the Super Four round and only two more at the end of that round continued to fight at the World Championship.
• In 2012 and 2013, 16 teams competed for the right to play at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup; only two could go further. According to the group stage results, there were six teams that qualified for the final part of the tournament. For example, in the 2012 season, the winners of the groups (Afghanistan and Namibia) advanced ahead of schedule to the 1/2 finals of the qualification. The winner of the full-time match went to the final of the selection; that is, it got to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The loser of the match was forced to play another match with the team that had previously won two matches in the playoffs among the teams that took second and third places in the groups. By the way, as a result, Namibia did not get into the final part of the championship, giving way to Ireland.
• In 2015 and 2019, 14 teams participated in the qualification. Four teams from two groups entered the playoffs. The group winners ended up in the 1/2 finals directly and automatically became participants in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The other six teams played the remaining four places in the playoffs.
• As for the final part, 12 teams took part in the first competition. In 2014 and 2016, 16 teams competed at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The format of the tournament also depended on it:
• Until 2012, inclusive, at the beginning of the tournament, the teams were divided into four groups of three teams. Then the two best of each group went to Super 8, where two quartets of participants were formed. According to the next round’s results, the semifinalists of the tournament were determined (the two best teams from each group).
• In 2014 and 2016, the competition format changed. The top 8 teams started the fight from the second round called Super 10. The two best teams joined them according to the results of the first round. The teams were divided into two groups of five participants and played a match between each other. Then the two best teams advanced to the 1/2 finals.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: tournament history

The most titled team of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is the West Indies, which has two titles on its account:

• In 2012, the West Indies team got into the group stage with Australia and Ireland. In the opening match, it lost to the Australians. Then it drew with Ireland but went further on additional indicators. In the Super 8 round, the team’s opponents from the American continent were Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand. In this company, the West Indies team was also not the best. In one of the matches, it lost to Sri Lanka. In the 1/2 final, the representatives of the West Indies met the Australians again and sensationally won a crushing victory (with a difference of 74 runs). In the final, the team took another revenge, beating Sri Lanka (with an advantage of 34 runs).
• In 2016, the West Indies were more confident about the title. The team took first place in the Super 10 round, beating England in additional indicators (representatives of the American continent won the face-to-face meeting). The West Indies also beat Sri Lanka and South Africa and unexpectedly lost to Afghanistan in the last match. In the 1/2 finals, the West Indians had a hard match with the Indians. Only with an advantage of 7 wickets were they able to prove their superiority. In the final, the West Indies beat England again in the fight (with a difference of four wickets).

Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and England have each become ICC Men’s T20 World Cup champions. Sri Lankan representatives played most often in the finals. Unlike the One Day International format, the Australians have never won this tournament yet. It should be noted that at the main tournament in the world of cricket, the Australian men’s national team has won five times. Its maximum at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is the final in 2010. Then the representatives of the Green Continent lost to the British. The Australians had a good chance of success in 2012, but they unexpectedly played poorly in the match against the West Indies in the semi-finals.

At least once in the final part of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 19 national teams played. Six teams did not miss a single tournament: Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and the West Indies. The Irish national team demonstrated the best result among the debutants. In 2009, this team reached the second round of the competition.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: interesting facts

During the six tournaments held, a lot of interesting statistics have accumulated, which we want to introduce you to:

• The highest percentage of wins at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is… the Nepal national team — 66.6%. This is an amazing fact since this team took part in the final part of the tournament only once in 2014. The Asians started with the first round, where the eight highest-ranked teams did not play. The team won two victories and suffered one defeat. At the same time, according to additional indicators, the Nepalese lost to the Bangladesh national team, so they did not go further and did not spoil their statistics.
• Of the regular participants of the ICC Men’s T20 World, 60% of wins and above have three national teams: South Africa (60%), India (64.06%) and Sri Lanka (64.28%). The most titled team of the world forum, the West Indies, is in fifth place in this standings with 58.33%.
• The Sri Lankan national team has played the largest number of matches at the ICC Men’s T20 World — 35. It also has the most wins — 20.
• The biggest victory in the tournament was recorded in the match between Sri Lanka and Kenya. The match was held in Johannesburg (South Africa) as part of the debut ICC Men’s T20 World. Sri Lanka won by a margin of 172 runs.
• The minimum advantage in terms of runs was recorded in four championship matches. In 2009, South Africa defeated New Zealand. In 2010, the New Zealanders were better than the Pakistan team. Then the Indian team won twice with a difference of 1 run: against South Africa (in 2012) and Bangladesh (in 2016).
• The largest number of runs in the tournament’s history belongs to Mahela Jayawardene from the Sri Lanka national team – 1016.
• Only seven players in the ICC Men’s T20 World managed to score centuries. Twice this achievement was conquered only by Chris Gayle.
• The record holder for the number of wickets is Shahid Afridi – 39.

So far, none of the host teams of the ICC Men’s T20 World has managed to take the trophy. The closest to this achievement were the representatives of Sri Lanka in 2012 when they made it to the finals. In 2016, the tournament was hosted by India, but this country’s national team stopped in the 1/2 finals.

Why is there a long pause in the ICC Men’s T20 World? Initially, after the championship in 2016, it was decided that the tournament would not take place in 2018 due to the density of the world calendar. The next competitions were planned for 2020. In April, the International Cricket Council representatives announced that the tournament was scheduled to be held on time, despite the coronavirus pandemic. But already in May, the Council leaders announced that holding the competition could be a big risk. In June, the head of Cricket Australia said that the IC Men’s T20 World is under threat due to the closed borders of Australia. As a result, in the autumn of 2020, the International Cricket Council decided to postpone the tournament. Firstly, it will be held in the 2021 season. Secondly, the location has changed. India will host the championship instead of Australia. However, the final new host country of the tournament will be determined at the end of the summer of 2021. The UAE is a backup option for the organizers.