ICC T20I Championship

The ICC T20 Championship is an international Twenty20 cricket competition run by the International Cricket Council. The competition is notional in that it is simply a ranking scheme overlaid on the regular T20I match schedule.[1] After every T20I match, the two teams involved receive points based on a mathematical formula. The total of each team's points total is divided by the total number of matches to give a rating, and all teams are ranked on a table in order of rating.[2]

This article is about the ranking scheme. It is not to be confused with ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

ICC T20I Championship

Administrator	International Cricket Council
Format	Twenty20 International
Tournament format	Notional (ongoing points accumulation through all matches played)
Number of teams	84
Current champion	Australia (278 rating)
Most successful	Sri Lanka (1064 days)
Longest continuous champion	Pakistan (825 days)
Highest rating	Pakistan (286 rating)

Australia currently leads the ICC T20I Championship, after the annual ranking update published on 1 May 2020.[3]

Qualification

According to the ICC website, "teams will need to play six matches against other teams in the previous three to four years to remain in the rankings table." [4]

Points calculations

Time period

Each team scores points based on the results of their matches over the last 3−4 years − all matches played in the 12–24 months since the May before last, plus all the matches played in the 24 months before that, for which the matches played and points earned both count half.[5] Each May, the matches and points earned between 3 and 4 years ago are removed, and the matches and points earned between 1 and 2 years ago switch from 100% weighting to 50% weighting. For example, at May 2014, the matches played between May 2010 and May 2011 were removed, and the matches played between May 2012 and May 2013 switched to 50% weighting (the matches from May 2011 to April 2012 would have already been at 50% following the previous rerating). This happens overnight, so can result in teams changing positions in the ranking table despite not playing.

Find the points earned from a match

Each time two teams play another match, the rankings table is updated as follows, based on the ratings of the teams immediately before they played. To determine the teams' new ratings after a particular match, first calculate the points earned from the match:

If the gap between the ratings of the two teams before the match was less than 40 points, then:

Match result	Points earned
Win	Opponent's rating + 50
Tie	Opponent's rating
Lose	Opponent's rating − 50

If the gap between the ratings of the two teams before the match was at least 40 points, then:

Match result	Points earned
Stronger team wins	Own rating + 10
Weaker team loses	Own rating − 10
Stronger team ties	Own rating − 40
Weaker team ties	Own rating + 40
Stronger team loses	Own rating − 90
Weaker team wins	Own rating + 90

Example

Suppose Team A, with an initial rating of 100, plays Team B. The table shows the points awarded to the two teams for 9 different initial ratings for B (ranging from 20 to 160), and the three possible match results.

Initial ratings		Scenario	Team A wins & Team B loses. Points earned:				Match tied. Points earned:				Team A loses & Team B wins. Points earned:					Total initial ratings	Total points earned (All 3 results)
Team A	Team B		Team A		Team B		Team A		Team B		Team A		Team B
100	20	Initial ratings at least 40 points apart	Stronger team wins: Own rating + 10	110	Weaker team loses: Own rating − 10	10	Stronger team ties: Own rating − 40	60	Weaker team ties: Own rating + 40	60	Stronger team loses: Own rating − 90	10	Weaker team wins: Own rating + 90	110		120	120
100	40			110		30		60		80		10		130		140	140
100	60			110		50		60		100		10		150		160	160
100	70	Initial ratings less than 40 points apart	Win: Opponent's rating + 50	120	Lose: Opponent's rating − 50	50	Tie: Opponent's rating	70	Tie: Opponent's rating	100	Lose: Opponent's rating − 50	20	Win: Opponent's rating + 50	150		170	170
100	90			140		50		90		100		40		150		190	190
100	110			160		50		110		100		60		150		210	210
100	130			180		50		130		100		80		150		230	230
100	140	Initial ratings at least 40 points apart	Weaker team wins: Own rating + 90	190	Stronger team loses: Own rating − 90	50	Weaker team ties: Own rating + 40	140	Stronger team ties: Own rating − 40	100	Weaker team loses: Own rating − 10	90	Stronger team wins: Own rating + 10	150		240	240
100	160			190		70		140		120		90		170		260	260

This illustrates that:

• The winning team earns more points than the losing team. (Unless the ratings are more than 180 apart and the weaker team wins − highly unlikely.)
• Winning always earns a team 100 points more than losing, and 50 more than tying.
• The total points earned by the two teams is always the same as the total initial ratings of the two teams.
• The points earned by a winning team increases as the initial rating (quality) of the opposition increases, within the constraints of earning at least its own initial rating + 10, and no more than its own initial rating + 90. A winning team therefore always earns more points than its initial rating, increasing its overall average rating.
• The points earned by a losing team increases as the initial rating (quality) of the opposition increases, within the constraints of earning at least its own initial rating − 90, and no more than its own initial rating − 10. A losing team therefore always earns fewer points than its initial rating, decreasing its overall average rating.
• In a tie, the weaker team usually earns more points than the stronger team (unless the initial ratings are at least 80 apart), reflecting the fact that a tie is a better result for the weaker team than the stronger team. Also, the stronger team will earn fewer points than its initial rating, decreasing its average, and the weaker team more points that its initial rating, increasing its average.
• For a given result, the rule of how the two teams' points are calculated changes as the initial ratings change, from being based on teams' own ratings when one team is far stronger, to being based on the opponent's ratings when the teams are closely matched, back to being based on own ratings when the other team is far stronger. However, despite these sudden changes in the rule, the number of points awarded for each result changes smoothly as the initial ratings change.

Find the new ratings

• Each team's rating is equal to its total points scored divided by the total matches played. (Series are not significant in these calculations).
• Add the match points scored to the points already scored (in previous matches as reflected by the table), add one to the number of matches played, and determine the new rating.
• Points earned by teams depend on the opponent's ratings, therefore this system needed to assign base ratings to teams when it started.

Current rankings

ICC T20I Championship
Rank	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	Australia	19	5,285	278
2	England	17	4,564	268
3	India	35	9,319	266
4	Pakistan	21	5,470	260
5	South Africa	17	4,380	258
6	New Zealand	23	5,565	242
7	Sri Lanka	23	5,293	230
8	Bangladesh	20	4,583	229
9	West Indies	24	5,499	229
10	Afghanistan	17	3,882	228
11	Zimbabwe	18	3,442	191
12	Ireland	29	5,513	190
13	United Arab Emirates	23	4,288	186
14	Scotland	17	3,096	182
15	Nepal	23	4,148	180
16	Papua New Guinea	21	3,769	179
17	Netherlands	26	4,618	178
18	Oman	18	3,169	176
19	Namibia	19	2,980	157
20	Singapore	20	2,835	142
21	Canada	15	1,956	130
22	Qatar	23	2,982	130
23	Hong Kong	23	2,727	119
24	Kenya	12	1,389	116
25	Jersey	21	2,423	115
26	Kuwait	16	1,765	110
27	Italy	10	1,10	110
28	Saudi Arabia	9	965	107
29	Denmark	10	975	98
30	Bermuda	13	1,202	92
31	Uganda	11	985	90
32	Malaysia	29	2,557	88
33	Germany	15	1,304	87
34	United States	11	868	79
35	Ghana	10	773	77
36	Botswana	13	934	72
37	Guernsey	12	854	71
38	Austria	8	553	69
39	Nigeria	16	1,065	67
40	Romania	6	399	67
41	Norway	8	499	62
42	Spain	13	766	59
43	Sweden	3	168	56
44	Tanzania	3	167	56
45	Cayman Islands	8	430	54
46	Argentina	12	610	51
47	Philippines	5	241	48
47	Bahrain	9	454	47
49	Vanuatu	15	704	49
50	Belize	5	209	42
51	Bulgaria	5	203	41
52	Hungary	4	162	41
53	Malawi	12	476	40
54	Czech Republic	12	430	36
55	Fiji	3	105	35
56	Peru	9	294	33
57	Panama	5	164	32
58	Luxembourg	8	258	32
59	Costa Rica	4	126	32
60	Japan	4	126	32
61	Samoa	7	216	31
62	Mexico	11	320	31
63	Belgium	6	170	28
64	Portugal	7	173	25
65	Finland	9	204	23
66	Thailand	14	297	21
67	South Korea	4	78	20
68	Mozambique	12	173	14
69	Brazil	9	123	14
70	Bhutan	7	88	13
71	Sierra Leone	5	61	12
72	Maldives	14	138	10
73	Chile	9	85	9
74	Saint Helena	6	55	9
75	Indonesia	4	19	5
76	Myanmar	6	23	4
77	Lesotho	3	0	0
78	Rwanda	3	0	0
79	Eswatini	3	0	0
80	Turkey	5	0	0
81	China	6	0	0
82	Gambia	6	0	0
83	Gibraltar	7	0	0
84	Malta	8	0	0
Reference: ICC rankings for Tests, ODIs, Twenty20 & Women ICC page, 1 May 2020
"Matches" is the number of matches played in the 12-24 months since the May before last, plus half the number in the 24 months before that.

Historical ICC T20I Champions

This table lists the teams that have historically held the highest rating since the T20I ranking was introduced.

Country	Start	End	Duration	Cumulative	Highest Rating
England	24 October 2011[6]	7 August 2012 [7]	289 days	289 days	140
South Africa	8 August 2012	11 September 2012	35 days	35 days	137
England	12 September 2012	21 September 2012	10 days	299 days	130
South Africa	22 September 2012	28 September 2012	7 days	42 days	134
Sri Lanka	29 September 2012	27 March 2014	545 days	545 days	134
India	28 March 2014	2 April 2014	6 days	6 days	130
Sri Lanka	3 April 2014	3 April 2014	1 day	546 days	131
India	4 April 2014	5 April 2014	2 days	8 days	132
Sri Lanka	6 April 2014	30 April 2014	25 days	571 days	133
India	1 May 2014	6 September 2014	129 days	137 days	131
Sri Lanka	7 September 2014	9 January 2016	490 days	1061 days	135
West Indies	10 January 2016	30 January 2016	21 days	21 days	118
India	31 January 2016	8 February 2016	9 days	146 days	120
Sri Lanka	9 February 2016	11 February 2016	3 days	1064 days	121
India	12 February 2016	3 May 2016	82 days	228 days	127
New Zealand	4 May 2016	31 October 2017	546 days	546 days	132
Pakistan	1 November 2017	3 November 2017	3 days	3 days	124
New Zealand	4 November 2017	6 November 2017	3 days	549 days	124
Pakistan	7 November 2017	2 January 2018	57 days	60 days	124
New Zealand	3 January 2018	27 January 2018	25 days	574 days	128
Pakistan	28 January 2018	30 April 2020	824 days	884 days	286
Australia	1 May 2020	Present	5 days	5 days	278
Last updated 05 May 2020

The summary of teams that have held the highest rating by days, are:

Team	Total Days	Highest Rating
Sri Lanka	1064	135
Pakistan	884	286
New Zealand	574	132
England	299	140
India	228	132
South Africa	42	137
West Indies	21	118
Australia	5	278

See also

• ICC Test Championship
• ICC ODI Championship
• List of Twenty20 International Records
• International cricket
• ICC Women's Rankings
• ICC Player Rankings

References

1. "Twenty20 rankings launched with England on top". 24 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
2. "David Richardson previews the release of the Reliance ICC T20I Rankings". Retrieved 24 October 2011.
3. "Australia's men rise to top of Test and T20 cricket rankings". The Guardian. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
4. "ICC unveils Global Men's T20I Rankings Table featuring 80 teams". Retrieved 3 May 2019.
5. "FAQs on ICC T20I Team Rankings". Qn4,5, ICC. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
6. "ICC rankings - ICC Test, ODI and Twenty20 rankings". 25 October 2011. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
7. "England rise to No.1 in ODIs". ESPNcricinfo.

External links

• ICC Test, ODI and T20I Championship Rankings
• ICC RANKINGS - TEST, ODI, T20 & WOMEN ODI, T20 / TEAM RANKINGS