The ICC World Twenty20 is the international championship of Twenty20 cricket. The event is organized by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament consists of 12 teams and is contested by all Test-playing nations plus qualifiers. The championship is expected to be held around every two years.
The inaugural event, the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, was staged in South Africa from 11-24 September 2007. The tournament was won by India, who becomes the first World T20 Champions after defeating Pakistan by 5 runs in the final at Johannesburg.
Qualification
All Test-playing nations achieve automatic qualification to the tournament, with the remaining places filled by ICC associate member nations through a qualification tournament.
Qualification for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 came from the results of the first cycle of the ICC World Cricket League - a 50-over format league for non-Test playing nations. The two finalists of the Division One tournament - Kenya and Scotland - qualified for the inaugural World Twenty20 tournament alongside the Test-playing nations. Qualification for subsequent tournaments, beginning with the 2009 event, is achieved through a special event using the twenty20 format.
The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier was played between 2 August and 5 August 2008 in Stormont, Belfast in Northern Ireland. The six competing teams were: Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, The Netherlands and Scotland, with the top three earning a place at the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England. The competition was won by Ireland and the Netherlands, who shared the trophy after rain forced the final to be abandoned without a ball bowled. Both teams qualified for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 finals in England. Due to the withdrawal of Zimbabwe from the competition, the two finalists are joined by third-placed Scotland.
Tournament stages
The tournament format for the 2009 edition consists of four stages:
Group Stage - Four groups of three teams (two seeds and one qualifier) with two games per team and the top two teams qualifying for the Super 8s.
Super 8s - Two four-team groups playing three games each. The make up of the groups was pre-decided based upon all seeds qualifying; if a seed failed to qualify the beneficiary took their allotted place in their respective group.
Semi-Finals - Group Winners playing the runner up of the other Super 8 Group.
Final
Hosts
The International Cricket Council's executive committee voted for the hosts of the tournament after examining the bids which was made by the nations keen to hold a Twenty20 World Championship.
After South Africa, England is hosting in 2009 followed by West Indies in 2010, Sri Lanka in 2012 and Bangladesh in 2014. The ICC decided that South Africa and England should host the first two tournaments because they were the earliest adopters of the format.
Competition Format
The ICC World Twenty20 2009 will be contested by 12 teams which have been 'seeded' and divided into four groups:
A, B, C, D
Group A - India, Bangladesh, Ireland
Group B - Pakistan, England, Netherlands
Group C - Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies
Group D - New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland
The first round of the competition will be the Group stage. Each team will play every other team in its group. Points will be allocated for each match (Win 2, Tie or no result 1, Loss 0).
Following the Group stage the top 2 teams in each group will progress to the next phase (the Super Eight series). The Super Eight series will consist of eight teams divided into two groups of four based on their seedings in the Group stage as follows:
Group E - A1, B2, C1, D2
Group F - B1, A2, C2, D1
If the top two seeded teams do qualify they will be seeded in position 1 and 2 as specified regardless of whether they finish first or second in their group, unless they are knocked out by team 3 in their group. In this instance, team 3 replaces the position of the team they knock out.
Each team will play every other team in its group. No points from the Group stage will be carried forward to the Super Eight series. The top two teams from each group in the Super Eight series of the competition will progress to the semi-finals where the team placed first in Group E will play the team placed second in Group F and the team placed first in Group F will play the team placed second in Group E.
The winners of the semi-finals will contest the Final.
England Stadiums
Three famous English cricket grounds have been selected to host matches during the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup.
The Lords Cricket stadium:
The Lords Cricket stadium is regarded as the home of cricket and will host the opening ceremony and the final of the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup. Located in London, this famous ground can accommodate 29,000 spectators and combines futuristic infrastructure with an aura of Victorian Old World charm.
Distinctive Features : Lords' most distinctive feature is its space-age media centre, which was added to the ground for the 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup. The ground is also home to one of the oldest pavilions in world cricket, a structure built in the late 1800s by architect Thomas Verity.
The Oval Cricket Ground :
The Oval, in Kennington, London, is a historic cricket ground that is famous for having hosted the first Test match in the history of the game. A major refurbishment in 2002 transformed the ground into one of the finest cricket venues in the world, and The Oval will host several Twenty20 World Cup group stages matches, as well as a semifinal.
Distinctive Features : The Oval's most distinctive feature comes in the form of the enormous Victorian gasometres located outside the cricket ground. The impressive new four-tier OCS Stand is a state-of-the-art structure, which has added significantly to the spectator capacity of the ground.
Trent Bridge Cricket Ground :
Trent Bridge in Nottinghamshire will host one of the semifinals of the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup, as well as several group stage matches. This 17, 500 capacity 2009 Twenty20 World Cup stadium has retained its Victorian charm, and is celebrated as one of the finest venues in the world at which to watch cricket.
Distinctive Features : Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is best known for its historic Pavilion, a structure that has been carefully maintained to preserve the original feel of the ground. The stadium is also easily identifiable by the unsightly Radcliffe Road tower block, which is located adjacent to the Radcliffe Road stand.
Broadcasters in India (Live)
ESPN (Live) - English
STAR Cricket (Live) - Hindi
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