The Birth T20 Cricket
It was the cricket board of England and Wales that hit upon the brainwave of the century by making the game even shorter and restricting it to twenty overs per side. The first official T20 game was played in the UK in 2003 but it was not until 2007 that T20 cricket went international with the first ICC T20 World Cup being played in Johannesburg, South Africa.
History of the ICC T20 World Cup
The ICC T20 World Cup was formed by the International Cricket Council, ICC. A total of 12 teams participated in this tournament.
ICC T20 World Cup 2007
The first ICC T20 World Cup tournament was held with a total of 12 teams participating. The teams were organized into groups and then were made to play against each other. India won the tournament with the runners up going to Pakistan.
ICC T20 World Cup 2009
The second round of T20 took place in 2009 in England. Again, 12 teams participated and played in three famous cricket grounds, The Oval, Trent Bridge and Lord’s. A new development here was that there was a women’s category included which alternated with the men’s tournaments. In the men’s final, Pakistan emerged the victor after beating Sri Lanka by eight wickets. The England defeated New Zealand in the women’s final.
ICC T20 World Cup 2010
The 2010 ICC T20 World Cup was lifted by England who beat Australia. It was held in Barbados, West Indies. This is a historic aberration in the international cricket calendar as this tournament is held every two years and should have been by rights, held in 2011. The tournament was organized in 2010 to correct an irregularity caused by a postponement of the 2008 Champions Trophy in Pakistan caused by security considerations. The successive tournaments are to continue the trend of every two years but going forward in even years instead of the odd ones preceding them.
The Future Years
This year the tournament will be held in October-November 2012 in Sri Lanka and the world waits with bated breath for the excitement to unfold as the year draws to close. The 2010 ICC T20 World Cup has attracted a lot of criticism on the grounds that it is a major cause of fatigue and early burnout of cricketers. However, despite all the negative feedback, the T20 Series has emerged as one of the most interesting and exciting variants in cricket of modern times.