Women's Twenty20 is the use of the

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...

match format in

women's cricket Women's cricket is the form of the team sport of cricket when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries around the world and 108 national teams participate internationally. 11 of them have WTest and WODI ...

. 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 Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) is the shortest form of women's international cricket. A women's Twenty20 International is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between two of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members. The first Twent ...

(and first ever T20I for either gender), that took place at

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...

on 5 August 2004 between

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. 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 The Women's Big Bash League (known as the WBBL and, for sponsorship reasons, the Weber WBBL) is the Australian women's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition. The WBBL replaced the Australian Women's Twenty20 Cup, which ran from the 2007–08 ...

in Australia in 2015–16 and the

Women's Cricket Super League The Women's Cricket Super League (WCSL), known as the Kia Super League (KSL) for sponsorship reasons, was a semi-professional women's Twenty20 cricket competition in England and Wales operated by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The comp ...

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 The 2022 FairBreak Invitational T20 was a women's Twenty20 cricket competition, which took place from 4 to 15 May 2022 in Dubai. The tournament, sanctioned by the ICC, was privately-run by FairBreak Global, a company that aims to promote gend ...

. At international level, Twenty20 cricket has been an increasingly prevalent format for women. The first

ICC Women's World Twenty20 The ICC Women's T20 World Cup (known as the ICC Women's World Twenty20 until 2019) is the biennial international championship for women's Twenty20 International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cri ...

was held in England in 2009, and was won by the hosts. The most recent edition took place in Australia in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, with the final being the most watched women's cricket event ever worldwide, and with 86,174 watching in person at the

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

Status

In October 2017, the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the ' ...

(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

s have been played since 2004. To date, 70 nations have played the format.

WT20I rankings

In January 2018, the ICC granted international status to all matches between associate nations, with plans to create a WT20I rankings system. The rankings were launched in October 2018.

Domestic T20 leagues

The following is a list of the premier T20 domestic competition in full member countries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Women's Twenty20