Women's Twenty20
Women's Twenty20 is the use of the Twenty20 match format in women's cricket.
In a Twenty20 match, the two teams bat for a single innings each, of a maximum of 20 overs. The wider rules and playing conditions are usually the same for both the men's format and the women's format, with some small variations.
The first women's Twenty20 matches took place concurrently on 29 May 2004, as part of the 2004 Super Fours: Braves versus Super Strikers and Knight Riders versus V Team. These matches were viewed as a warm-up for the first ever Women's Twenty20 International (and first ever T20I for either gender), that took place at Hove on 5 August 2004 between England and New Zealand.
Most major cricket nations now have a women's Twenty20 cricket tournament as part of their domestic season. In 2007, the first Women's Interstate Twenty20 began in Australia and the State League Twenty20 began in New Zealand. With the beginning of the Women's Big Bash League in Australia in 2015–16 and the Women's Cricket Super League in England in 2016, domestic women's Twenty20 tournaments started becoming more professionalised. In 2022, the first privately-run women's T20 competition was launched, the 2022 FairBreak Invitational T20.
At international level, Twenty20 cricket has been an increasingly prevalent format for women. The first ICC Women's World Twenty20 was held in England in 2009, and was won by the hosts. The final of the 2020 edition in Australia became the most watched women's cricket event ever worldwide with 53 million views, and with 86,174 watching in person at the MCG. The most recent edition was held in South Africa in 2023, with Australia winning an unprecedented sixth title.
Status
In October 2017, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed updated regulations for Classification of Official Cricket. It defined and clarified what constitutes Official Cricket and what does not. According to these regulations, Competitive Women's Cricket is considered as the highest level of domestic women's cricket. The main features of the new regulations on what constitutes Competitive Women's T20 Cricket and what do not are as follows.
Matches that qualify as Competitive Women's T20 Cricket
- Twenty20 women's cricket matches played either at state or provincial level or official matches of a touring Test team against state, or provincial level teams, or franchise based teams or competitions, substantially conforming to ICC standard playing conditions and accorded the status of Competitive Women's Cricket by the relevant governing bodies.
Matches that do not qualify as Competitive Women's T20 Cricket
- Matches between the 'A' teams, national academy or age group teams of member countries.
- All other women's cricket matches played as part of a competition or tournament held under the auspices of a member including club cricket, schools, age groups and university cricket.
Match format and rules
Women's Twenty20 cricket mainly follows the same rules as men's Twenty20 cricket. Twenty20 matches are a form of limited overs cricket, with both teams batting for a single innings of 20 overs (120 legal deliveries). The team with the most runs at the conclusion of both innings is the winner of the match.
Some small differences exist between the women's and men's formats: for example, ICC rules state that during non-Powerplay overs in women's matches, 4 fielders are permitted outside the fielding circle, compared to 5 in the men's game. Boundaries are also smaller in the women's game, with the rules dictating that they should be between 60 and 70 yards, compared to 65 and 90 yards in the men's game.
International
Women's Twenty20 Internationals have been played since 2004. In January 2018, the ICC granted international status to all matches between associate nations. Subsequently, they created a T20I rankings system which were launched in October 2018. As of September 2023[update], 82 nations have played the format.
Domestic T20 leagues
The following is a list of the premier T20 domestic competition in full member countries.
| Nations | Tournament | Period | Current Trophy Holder |
|---|---|---|---|
 Australia | Women's Big Bash League | 2015–present | Adelaide Strikers |
 England | Charlotte Edwards Cup | 2021–present | Southern Vipers |
 India | Women's Premier League | 2023–present | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
 Ireland | Women's Super Series | 2015–present | Scorchers |
 New Zealand | Women's Super Smash | 2007–present | Wellington Blaze |
 Pakistan | PCB Women's Twenty20 Tournament | 2020–present | PCB Blasters |
 South Africa | Women's T20 Super League | 2019–present | No overall winner |
 Sri Lanka | Women's Invitation T20 Tournament | 2022–present | Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club |
 West Indies | Twenty20 Blaze | 2012–present | Jamaica |
 Zimbabwe | Women's T20 Cup | 2020–present | Mountaineers |
See also
References
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