Three formats, one sport
A comparison of the three international formats — Test, ODI and T20 — by overs, innings, duration and how a match unfolds.
Not a live score feed, a fixture list, or a page published by any cricket board or broadcaster.
The difference is the number of overs each side is allowed and how many innings each side gets.
A Test match gives each of the two sides two innings and places no limit on overs, which is why a game can run for up to five days. An ODI gives each side a single innings of 50 overs and is usually completed within one day. A T20 match gives each side a single innings of 20 overs and lasts about three hours.
Within each format the mechanics are identical: eleven players a side, bowlers operating in overs of six legal deliveries, and a batting side trying to score more runs than its opponent. What the format changes is the budget of deliveries each batting side receives, and that budget decides everything from team selection to the pace of an innings.
With a fixed number of overs, a batting side has to choose between caution and speed.
In a 20-over innings a side has only 120 legal deliveries in total, so wickets are spent early to keep the scoring rate high. In a 50-over innings there are 300 deliveries, which allows a side to rebuild after losing top-order wickets. In a Test match there is no ceiling at all: a side can bat for a whole day and drain the opponent's energy before posting a total.
The over is the shared unit across formats. Six legal deliveries bowled by the same bowler make one over, and the ends are then switched so a different bowler operates from the other end. Wide balls and no-balls that are not legal deliveries do not count towards the six, which is why an over can stretch in real time even though its count stays at six.
| Format | Overs per side | Innings per side | Duration | First played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | No limit | Two | Up to 5 days | Not dated in this record |
| ODI | 50 | One | Usually 1 day | World Cup first held in 1975 |
| T20 | 20 | One | About 3 hours | Format created in 2003 |
| T20 international | 20 | One | About 3 hours | First men's match in 2005 |
| Over | 6 legal deliveries | — | A few minutes | Common to all formats |
| Test status, Bangladesh | — | — | — | 2000, tenth nation |
A one-day or T20 game runs in a fixed order: toss, first innings, break, chase, result.
The captains meet for the toss before play begins, and the side that wins it chooses to bat or to bowl first. The side batting first uses its full allocation of overs — 50 in an ODI, 20 in a T20 — unless it is bowled out before the overs expire. The innings ends when all ten wickets fall or the overs run out, whichever comes first.
The second side then chases the target within the same number of overs. If rain interrupts, the target is recalculated with the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method rather than simply cutting the chase short, so the chasing side still faces a fair contest. The full sequence, including how a DLS adjustment is applied, is set out step by step on the page How a Match Unfolds.
Confirmed facts about Test, ODI and T20 cricket, the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method and the dates of the format milestones.