Twenty20 cricket was founded in Great Britain at the turn of the 21st century. It is also popular in Sri Lanka, India, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa. Twenty20 cricket is a faster version of original cricket. It is intended to appeal to a younger audience for whom original cricket is too slow. Twenty20 games are typically three hours, while historical cricket games are four hours longer.
Innings
Innings are divided into their amount of "overs," which is the term for a series of six pitches or "bowls." An inning in Twenty20 Cricket is comprised of 20 overs or less. Therefore, in each inning, the batting team will not see more than 120 bowls. Each inning must also be less than 75 minutes.
Pitching
Unlike baseball, the pitcher runs toward his opponent before pitching, or "bowling" a bouncing throw. His goal is to bowl the ball past the batter and hit one of the three posts or "stumps" behind the batter. Captains decide on who pitches, although one pitcher can not bowl two consecutive overs or series of throws.
Fielding
There are 11 fielders on the defensive side, including the pitchers. Along with the pitcher, there is a catcher who sits behind the batsman and nine other fielders. The fielders' goal is to secure the batsman's hit before the ball goes over the circular point line that encircles the field. Only five fielders can field on the leg side at any point of time.
Penalties
In Twenty20 Cricket, if a pitcher steps over the popping crease, the batting team gets a point as well as a free hit. The umpire may also reward one team if he feels the other is wasting time without need; this penalty can result in awarding five runs to the opponent.
Tie Breaker
A unique aspect of Twenty20 Cricket is the tie breaker. In Twenty20, ties are broken via bowl-out. This is a pitching competition, rather than a batting one. Each team allows five members to bowl twice. Whichever team breaks more stumps by hitting them wins the game.
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