Twenty20 Cup

For the competition in Pakistan, see Faysal Bank T20 Cup.

Twenty20 Cup

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Countries	England Wales
Administrator	ECB
Format	Twenty20
First tournament	2003
Last tournament	2009
Tournament format	Group stages, then knockout
Number of teams	18
Most successful	Leicestershire Foxes (3 titles)
Most runs	Jonathan Trott (1,564)
Most wickets	Yasir Arafat (64)

The Twenty20 Cup was a cricket competition for English and Welsh first-class counties from 2003 to 2009.

In 2010, it was replaced as the domestic Twenty20 competition by the Friends Provident t20.

History

Main article: Twenty20 § History

When the Benson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the England and Wales Cricket Board needed another one-day competition to fill its place. The cricketing authorities were looking to boost the game's popularity with the younger generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship. It was intended to deliver fast-paced, exciting cricket accessible to thousands of fans who were put off by the longer versions of the game.

The first Twenty20 Cup was held in 2003 and was marketed with the slogan “I don’t like cricket, I love it” (itself a line from the popular cricket-themed pop song Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc). It was won by the Surrey Lions.

Competition format

The Twenty20 format, twenty overs for each team, means a game can be completed in under three hours, making it more palatable for children and families than longer matches. Many games also feature additional activities for the spectators to provide more entertainment, such as paddling pools, bouncy castles, themed areas, bowling speed-guns, and prizes for catching a 6 ball. On Finals Day, there is also a performance by a major pop act – Atomic Kitten, Liberty X, Girls Aloud and Sugababes have performed on past Finals Days, and Mutya Buena performed on the 2007 Finals Day at Edgbaston.

Many games are played in twilight, again to enhance family spectator appeal and to allow attendance after work and school. They also feature numerous musical 'stings' for exciting events, such as the dismissal of a batsman, or the hitting of a boundary.

Rules

Most of the standard rules of cricket are retained, but the emphasis is on fast scoring and fast moving cricket. There are limits on fielding positions, and the boundaries are shorter, to encourage aggressive batting. Batsmen get a Free Hit if the bowler bowls a "No Ball" by overstepping the popping crease. There is also a strict 1 minute 30 second time limit on the amount of time a new batsman has to reach the crease. In the event of the scores being equal at the end of the overs of knockout matches, there is a "bowl-off", similar to a penalty shoot out, except the bowlers have to bowl at unguarded stumps. The winners are the team with the most hits.

As of the 2008 season, each county team will play 10 games, playing each team in the group once home and once away. Teams receive two points for a win, none for a defeat and one for a tie or a no result if the game can't be completed. This stage takes around three weeks to complete, with teams playing several ties each week. The top two from each division along with the two best third-place finishers qualify with for the quarter-finals, with the group winners and best second place team having home ties. The winners of the quarter-finals go through to "Finals Day", a bumper day of Twenty20 when the semi-finals and final of the competition take place on the same day at the same venue.

Teams

The first stage involves the eighteen counties being split into three "divisions", based on their location in Great Britain.

Each division contains six counties and are divided up as follows:

Northern Division

• Derbyshire Falcons
• Durham Dynamos
• Leicestershire Foxes
• Lancashire Lightning
• Nottinghamshire Outlaws
• Yorkshire Carnegie

Southern Division

• Essex Eagles
• Hampshire Hawks
• Kent Spitfires
• Middlesex Panthers
• Surrey
• Sussex Sharks

Mid / West / Wales Division

• Glamorgan
• Gloucestershire Gladiators
• Northamptonshire Steelbacks
• Somerset Sabres
• Warwickshire Bears
• Worcestershire Royals

Results

Team	Twenty20 Cup							Friends Life t20
	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Derbyshire	Grp	Grp	QF	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp
Durham	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	SF	QF	Grp	QF	Grp	QF
Essex	Grp	QF	Grp	SF	Grp	SF	Grp	SF	Grp	QF	SF
Glamorgan	Grp	SF	Grp	Grp	Grp	QF	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp
Gloucestershire	SF	Grp	Grp	QF	RU	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	QF	Grp
Hampshire	Grp	QF	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	QF	Won	SF	Won	SF
Kent	Grp	Grp	Grp	QF	Won	RU	SF	Grp	QF	Grp	Grp
Lancashire	Grp	SF	RU	Grp	SF	QF	QF	QF	SF	Grp	QF
Leicestershire	SF	Won	SF	Won	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	Won	Grp	Grp
Middlesex	Grp	Grp	QF	Grp	Grp	Won	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp
Northamptonshire	Grp	Grp	QF	QF	Grp	QF	SF	QF	Grp	Grp	Won
Nottinghamshire	Grp	Grp	Grp	RU	QF	Grp	Grp	SF	QF	QF	QF
Somerset	Grp	Grp	Won	Grp	Grp	Grp	RU	RU	RU	SF	QF
Surrey	Won	RU	SF	SF	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	RU
Sussex	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	SF	Grp	Won	QF	QF	SF	Grp
Warwickshire	RU	QF	QF	Grp	QF	QF	QF	QF	Grp	Grp	Grp
Worcestershire	Grp	QF	Grp	Grp	QF	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	QF	Grp
Yorkshire	Grp	Grp	Grp	QF	QF	Grp	Grp	Grp	Grp	RU	Grp

Results

The event has been held annually towards the end of the cricket season in England since 2003.

Surrey won the inaugural event against Warwickshire Bears, in front of a sell out crowd at Trent Bridge, in July 2003.

Leicestershire Foxes are the only team to have won the competition more than once.

Year	Final
	Held at	Winners	Result	Runners-up
2003 Details	Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on 19 July 2003	Surrey 119 for 1 (10.5 overs)	Won by 9 wickets Scorecard	Warwickshire Bears 115 (18.1 overs)
2004 Details	Edgbaston, Birmingham, on 7 August 2004	Leicestershire Foxes 169 for 3 (19.1 overs)	Won by 7 wickets Scorecard	Surrey 168 for 6 (20 overs)
2005 Details	The Oval, London, on 30 July 2005	Somerset Sabres 118 for 3 (14.1 overs)	Won by 7 wickets Scorecard Match reduced to 16 overs per innings due to rain	Lancashire Lightning 114 for 8 (16 overs)
2006 Details	Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on 12 August 2006	Leicestershire Foxes 177 for 2 (20 overs)	Won by 4 runs Scorecard	Nottinghamshire Outlaws 173 for 8 (20 overs)
2007 Details	Edgbaston, Birmingham, on 4 August 2007	Kent Spitfires 147 for 6 (19.3 overs)	Won by 4 wickets Scorecard	Gloucestershire Gladiators 146 for 8 (20 overs)
2008 Details	The Rose Bowl, Southampton, on 26 July 2008	Middlesex Crusaders 187 for 6 (20 overs)	Won by 3 runs Scorecard	Kent Spitfires 184 for 5 (20 overs)
2009 Details	Edgbaston, Birmingham, on 15 August 2009	Sussex Sharks 172 for 7 (20 overs)	Won by 63 runs Scorecard	Somerset Sabres 109 (17.2 overs)

Records

Centuries in the Twenty20 Cup

Rank	Player	Team	Runs	Balls	Season	Against	4s	6s
1	Graham Napier	Essex Eagles	152*	58	2008	Sussex Sharks	10	16
2	Cameron White	Somerset Sabres	141*	70	2006	Worcestershire Royals	14	6
3	Michael Lumb	Hampshire Hawks	124*	69	2009	Essex Eagles	14	4
4	Cameron White	Somerset Sabres	116*	53	2006	Gloucestershire Gladiators	7	9
5	Ian Thomas	Glamorgan Dragons	116*	57	2004	Somerset Sabres	11	7
6	Graeme Hick	Worcestershire Royals	116*	65	2004	Northamptonshire Steelbacks	11	6
7	Andrew Symonds	Kent Spitfires	112	43	2004	Middlesex Crusaders	18	3
8	Lance Klusener	Northamptonshire Steelbacks	111*	59	2007	Worcestershire Royals	10	6
9	Darren Maddy	Leicestershire Foxes	111	60	2004	Yorkshire Phoenix	8	6
10	Graeme Hick	Worcestershire Royals	110	49	2007	Northamptonshire Steelbacks	10	8
11	Jim Allenby	Leicestershire Foxes	110	58	2009	Nottinghamshire Outlaws	7	8
12	Ian Harvey	Yorkshire Phoenix	109	55	2005	Derbyshire Phantoms	9	7
13	Ian Harvey	Yorkshire Phoenix	108*	59	2004	Lancashire Lightning	16	2
14	Marcus Trescothick	Somerset Sabres	107	57	2008	Worcestershire Royals	15	3
15	Ben Smith	Worcestershire Royals	105	45	2005	Glamorgan Dragons	12	6
16	Graeme Smith	Somerset Sabres	105	56	2005	Northamptonshire Steelbacks	9	5
17	Luke Wright	Sussex Sharks	103	45	2007	Kent Spitfires	11	6
18	Dawid Malan	Middlesex Crusaders	103	54	2008	Lancashire Lightning	10	6
19	Lou Vincent	Lancashire Lightning	102*	63	2008	Derbyshire Phantoms	11	3
20	Murray Goodwin	Sussex Sharks	102*	65	2007	Essex Eagles	9	5
21	Stuart Law	Lancashire Lightning	101	58	2005	Yorkshire Phoenix	12	3
22	Vikram Solanki	Worcestershire Royals	100	48	2009	Glamorgan Dragons	14	2
23	Ian Harvey	Gloucestershire Gladiators	100*	50	2003	Warwickshire Bears	13	4
24	Mal Loye	Lancashire Lightning	100	55	2005	Durham Dynamos	10	5
25	Hamish Marshall	Gloucestershire Gladiators	100	55	2007	Worcestershire Royals	10	6
26	Alastair Cook	Essex Eagles	100*	57	2009	Surrey	11	4
27	Ronnie Irani	Essex Eagles	100*	61	2006	Sussex Sharks	13	2
28	Greg Smith	Derbyshire Phantoms	100*	62	2008	Yorkshire Carnegie	12	2

See also

• Twenty20 Cricket
• Friends Life t20

External links

• ECB site
• cricket20