It is almost time for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies.
England head into the tournament as defending champions following their success in Australia in 2022.
However, they find themselves in a wide-open competition, with a record-breaking number of sides set to take part.
Here is a full guide to the ninth edition of the 20-over global showpiece.
Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 schedule and start date
The 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup starts on 2 June at 01:30 BST with hosts United States facing Canada in Texas.
Games are also taking place in the Caribbean, so there are matches overnight in the UK (00:30 or 01:30) and then the afternoon (15:30, 16:30, 18:00 or 20:00).
The initial 20-team group stage, that sees four groups of five, continues until 18 June with at least one game every day, but often two or three.
The Super 8s follow with two games most days until 25 June, before both semi-finals on 27 June.
The final is on Saturday, 29 June at 15:30 BST in Barbados.
What is the format for the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup?
The 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup is the biggest yet with 20 sides taking part and there’s a return to an old format.
All of the teams are involved from the off in an initial group stage, with each side playing four games and the top two progressing to the Super 8s.
The Super 8s, which will take place solely in the Caribbean, will consist of two groups of four, with eight sides (India, Pakistan, Australia, England, New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa and Sri Lanka) seeded to help with the planning and schedule for that stage.
Should those sides progress they will go into either Group 1 or 2 based on their seeding, rather than their finishing position in the initial group phase.
In the Super 8s, the top two teams progress to the semi-finals with the winner of each group facing the runner-up in the other pool.
Throughout both phases teams are awarded two points for a win, one for a no result and zero for a loss. There’s no ties in T20 cricket – more on that below!
Who is competing in the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup?
The expanded tournament means that most of the big nations are involved in the tournament.
The only Test-playing nation not to qualify is Zimbabwe, who failed to get through their qualifier tournament.
The 20 sides are split into the following four groups in the initial phase:
Group A: Canada, India (A1), Ireland, Pakistan (A2), USA
Group B: Australia (B2), England (B1), Namibia, Oman, Scotland
Group C: Afghanistan, New Zealand (C1), Papua New Guinea, Uganda, West Indies (C2)
Group D: Bangladesh, Nepal, Netherlands, South Africa (D1), Sri Lanka (D2)
What venues and stadiums are being used in the 2024 T20 World Cup?
The tournament will be cricket’s first major global event in the United States, with 16 of the 55 matches taking place there.
Florida (Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium), New York (Nassau County International Cricket Stadium) and Texas (Grand Prairie Stadium) will be the three venues hosting games.
The stadium in New York has been created for the tournament and comprises a pitch flown in from Adelaide, Australia and temporary seating.
In the Caribbean, Antigua & Barbuda (Sir Vivian Richards Stadium), Barbados (Kensington Oval), Guyana (Guyana National Stadium), Saint Lucia (Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium), St. Vincent & the Grenadines (Arnos Vale Playing Field) and Trinidad & Tobago (Brian Lara Cricket Academy) will host games.
What are the rules for the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup?
The tournament is played in a T20 format, so both teams will face 20 overs unless they are bowled out beforehand or the team batting second reaches their target before then.
Each innings will start with a six-over powerplay and there are different fielding restrictions in that phase.
Matches should last three hours and 10 minutes, with each innings allocated one hour and 25 minutes and separated by a 20 minute interval.
The tournament will be the first with the ‘stop-clock’ meaning the bowling side must be ready to bowl each over within 60 seconds of the previous one finishing.
Each side will be allowed two unsuccessful reviews per innings.
Should the number of runs scored by each team be level after 20 overs, the match will go to a super over (each team will face six balls – highest score wins). If that finishes a tie then super overs will continue to be played until a winner is found.
In the two group phases a minimum of five overs per side must be played to constitute a result, but that rises to 10 overs in the semi-finals and final.
If a match is halted after that point due to weather conditions then DLS (Duckworth Lewis Stern method) will be used to decide the winner.
The first semi-final and final have a reserve day, but the second semi-final will have an additional 250 minutes of time allowed only.
If India reach the semi-finals it has already been decided they will play in the second game.
Who are the previous Men’s T20 World Cup winners?
There have been six winners of the eight Men’s T20 World Cups. They are:
2007 – India
2009 – Pakistan
2010 – England
2012 – West Indies
2014 – Sri Lanka
2016 – West Indies
2021 – Australia
2022 – England
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