ICC

Overview

Two sides play under the ICC Men’s Twenty20 International Playing Conditions, which modify the MCC Laws of Cricket. Each side bats for 20 overs, with the result determined under those authoritative T20I rules.

How to win

• Scoring runs — Team total combines runs from running, boundaries, extras, and penalties across the innings.
• Scoring runs — Score by running between wickets or hitting boundaries: 4 along the ground, 6 over on the fly.
• Extras — Extras include byes, leg-byes, wides, no-balls, and penalty runs.
• Team total — Add all runs scored in the innings and compare wickets lost.
• Tied scores — Play one Super Over per side; repeat Super Overs until the tie is decided.

The game

• Teams and officials — Each side has 11 players; officials include two on-field umpires, TV and reserve umpires, and a match referee.
• Team size — Each side has 11 players.
• Player roles — Captain, wicket-keeper, batters, bowlers, all-rounders, and fielders.
• Match officials — 2 on-field umpires, 1 TV umpire, 1 reserve umpire, and 1 match referee.
• DRS reviews — Each team has two reviews per innings, assessed by the third umpire using review technology.

Playing the ball

• Batter dismissed by: bowled, caught, LBW, run out, stumped, hit wicket, obstructing field, timed out, retired; Free hit ball: batter cannot be dismissed except run out…
• Two innings — each side bats once for 20 overs (or until all-out); Each over = 6 legal deliveries; each bowler max 4 overs per innings; Match target ~75-90 minutes per innings; total ~3-3.5 hours
• No-ball free hit — A front-crease overstep gives a free hit; only a run-out can dismiss the batter next ball. (+ variants)
• Power-play (overs 1-6): only 2 fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle; After power-play (overs 7-20): maximum 5 fielders outside the 30-yard circle; At most 4 fielders on leg side at any time
• Two innings — Each side bats once for 20 overs or until all-out.

Fouls & penalties

• Slow over-rate — Fielding side concedes 5 runs per missed over; persistent captains may be banned. (+ variants)
• Slow over-rate — Fielding side concedes 5 runs per missed over; persistent violations can ban the captain.
• Ball tampering — Opponent receives 5 penalty runs; offender faces a match-suspension fine.
• Dissent / unsportsmanlike: match referee may issue suspension or match-fee deduction
• Mankad permitted — Running out the non-striker is permitted and not penalized.

Equipment

• Ball: white leather ball (4-piece construction) at international level; weight 5.5-5.75 oz (155.9-163 g); Bat: max 38" length × 4.25" width; willow blade; max thickness 67 mm edge, 60 mm depth…
• Ball: white leather ball (4-piece construction) at international level; weight 5.5-5.75 oz (155.9-163 g)
• Protective equipment — Use batting and thigh pads, arm guards, helmet with grille, abdominal guard, and gloves.

🚨 Cardinal Rule— Serious violation — may trigger retaliation or social exclusion

• Do Not Claim a Bump Ball as a Catch
  — If a fielder takes a catch after the ball has bounced off the ground ('bump ball'), they must not claim it as a fair catch. The expectation is that the fielder immediately signals to the umpire that the ball grounded, even before an appeal. Claiming a catch you know to be false is considered one of cricket's most serious integrity breaches.(DRS and third-umpire review have reduced the number of uncontested bump-ball incidents, but the fielder honesty norm predates and underpins the review systems.)[1][2]
• Withdraw a Knowingly Dishonest Appeal
  — If a fielder appeals for a dismissal knowing it is not out — pressing a bump-ball catch appeal, an LBW where the ball clearly hit the bat first, or similar — the fielder or fielding captain is expected to actively signal to the umpire that the appeal should be withdrawn. Pursuing a dishonest appeal for competitive gain is a clear Spirit of Cricket violation.(Distinct from a mistaken appeal: dishonest withdrawal concerns cases where the fielder has clear knowledge the dismissal is invalid.)[1][2]
• Sledging Has Limits: No Personal or Discriminatory AbuseProfessional play
  — Verbal gamesmanship ('sledging') is a tolerated part of cricket's competitive culture — psychological pressure and competitive banter are broadly accepted. The unwritten line is crossed when language targets a player's race, religion, ethnicity, family, or becomes degrading on a personal level. That line is enforced primarily by player culture rather than formal rules.(T20 cricket's compressed timeframe, stump microphones, and broadcast proximity have raised scrutiny of on-field language considerably.)[1][2][3]

⚠️ Strong Expectation— Most experienced players will take notice and be upset

• Walking: Self-Dismiss When You Know You Are Out⚡ Contested
  — A batsman who knows they have edged a catch to the keeper or slips is expected by tradition to 'walk' — to depart before the umpire raises their finger. Once considered the defining mark of cricket honour, this practice is now extremely rare at the professional T20 level, where players almost universally await the umpire's decision or invoke DRS.(Far more prevalent in amateur cricket and pre-DRS eras. Adam Gilchrist's decision to walk in the 2003 World Cup semi-final was treated as a remarkable exception even then.)[1][2][3]
• No Mankad Without Prior Warning⚡ ContestedProfessional play
  — Running out the non-striker who backs up too far before ball delivery — the 'Mankad' dismissal — was long held to require a prior verbal warning to the batsman as a matter of sportsmanship. The ICC removed the warning requirement in 2022 and reclassified it as a standard run-out, but many players and commentators still view using it unannounced as contrary to cricket's code.(Named after Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad (1947). Remains one of cricket's most-debated etiquette questions precisely because the Laws changed but the culture has not fully followed.)

🤝 Etiquette— Nice to follow; low consequence if ignored by newcomers

• Applaud Opponent Milestones
  — Fielding players are expected to acknowledge when an opposing batsman reaches fifty or a century, or when a bowler completes a hat-trick or a five-wicket haul. In T20, fifties are the common milestone acknowledged. Fielding team members — particularly the captain — starting the applause is standard practice at the international level.(Applies across all formats and levels. In T20I cricket the half-century is the primary batting milestone typically recognised by opponents.)[1][2]