There are three main international cricket formats: Test cricket (two innings per side over up to five days), One Day Internationals (50 overs per side) and Twenty20 Internationals (20 overs per side). The shorter the format, the faster the scoring and the more certain a result. Below we break down Test vs ODI vs T20, how each is won, drawn or tied, and the tournaments worth your time.
Cricket formats share the same core laws, so a wicket is a wicket and a six is a six in every version. What changes is time, tactics and the playing conditions set by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
In this guide
- Cricket formats compared: Test vs ODI vs T20
- Test cricket: the original format
- ODI cricket: 50 overs a side
- T20 cricket: the fastest format
- How a Super Over works
- DLS method basics
- Other recent playing condition changes
- The World Test Championship
- Major tournaments across the cricket formats
- Which cricket format should you watch first?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Key takeaways
Cricket formats compared: Test vs ODI vs T20
This table sets out the key differences between the three international cricket formats under current ICC playing conditions.
| Feature | Test | ODI | T20I |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overs per innings | Unlimited (at least 90 overs scheduled per day) | 50 | 20 |
| Innings per team | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Typical duration | Up to 5 days | About 7-8 hours | About 3-3.5 hours |
| Ball colour | Red (pink for day-night Tests) | White | White |
| Kit | Whites | Coloured | Coloured |
| Powerplays | None | Overs 1-10, 11-40, 41-50 | Overs 1-6 |
| Max fielders outside 30-yard circle | No limit | 2, then 4, then 5 | 2 in powerplay, then 5 |
| Max overs per bowler | No limit | 10 | 4 |
| Possible results | Win, draw, tie | Win, tie, no result | Win (Super Over if tied), no result |
In every format, no more than two fielders may stand behind square on the leg side when the ball is bowled.
Test cricket: the original format
Test cricket is the oldest and most demanding of the cricket formats. Each side bats twice, there is no limit on overs in an innings, and the match lasts up to five days with three sessions a day.
How a Test is won, drawn or tied
- Win: dismiss the opposition twice and score more runs in total. A captain can declare an innings closed early to buy time to bowl the other side out.
- Follow-on: in a five-day Test, a side that leads by at least 200 runs after the first innings can ask the opposition to bat again immediately.
- Draw: time runs out before a result is reached. This is why Tests can end with both teams unbeaten after five days.
- Tie: the side batting last is bowled out with the scores exactly level. It has happened only twice in men’s Test history, in 1960 and 1986.
Recent Test changes
Since June 2025, Tests use a stop clock: the fielding side must be ready to start each new over within 60 seconds, with a five-run penalty after two warnings in an innings. From October 2026, teams can agree before a match to use a pink ball in a daytime Test on a trial basis, and a wicket in the final over of the day no longer automatically ends play if the over is incomplete and conditions allow.
ODI cricket: 50 overs a side
One Day Internationals sit in the middle of the cricket formats, giving each team a single innings of 50 overs. The team batting first sets a target; the side chasing wins if it passes it before running out of overs or wickets. Results are given as a win by runs (when the team batting first wins) or by wickets (when the chasing side wins).
- Powerplays: overs 1-10 allow only two fielders outside the 30-yard circle, overs 11-40 allow four, and overs 41-50 allow five.
- Balls: since July 2025, two new white balls are used, one from each end, for the first 34 overs. The fielding side then picks one of them for the rest of the innings.
- Bowling limit: each bowler can bowl a maximum of 10 overs.
Equal scores produce a tie. Whether a Super Over follows depends on the competition, and it is standard in ICC event knockouts. If rain prevents each side facing at least 20 overs, the match is a no result.
T20 cricket: the fastest format
Twenty20 cut cricket to 20 overs a side and changed the sport. With only 120 legal balls, batters attack from the start and bowlers are limited to four overs each.
- Powerplay: overs 1-6, with only two fielders outside the circle. After that, up to five may be outside.
- Shortened matches: since July 2025, the powerplay in a rain-reduced T20I is set precisely in balls. An eight-over innings gets 2.2 powerplay overs and a five-over innings gets 1.3.
- Interval: from October 2026, the innings break in T20Is is a fixed 15 minutes, reducible to 10 when time has been lost.
- Result: each side must face at least five overs for a result. A tie usually goes to a Super Over.
Where does The Hundred fit?
The Hundred, played in England and Wales, is a domestic format of 100 balls per innings with a 25-ball powerplay. It is not an international format, but it shows how far short-form cricket can be pushed.
How a Super Over works
A Super Over breaks a tie in the limited-overs cricket formats. Each team gets one over and nominates three batters; losing two wickets ends the innings. The team that batted second in the main match bats first in the Super Over, and the side with more runs wins.
If the Super Over is also tied, another is played until there is a winner, although individual competitions can set their own limits. The old boundary-count tiebreaker, which decided the 2019 men’s World Cup final, was scrapped by the ICC later that year.
DLS method basics
The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method sets fair targets when rain or bad light cuts overs from a limited-overs match. It is used in the limited-overs cricket formats, ODIs and T20s, but never in Tests.
The key idea is resources. A batting side has two: overs remaining and wickets in hand. If the chasing team loses part of its innings, it loses resources, so its target is adjusted. Three points help:
- Par score: the score the chasing side needs at any moment to be level on DLS. If play is abandoned, the team ahead of par wins.
- Wickets matter: 80 for 1 is far better than 80 for 6, because more batting resources remain.
- Minimum overs: a result needs at least 20 overs per side in an ODI and five in a T20I.
You do not need to do the maths; broadcasters display the par score on screen.
Other recent playing condition changes
The ICC tweaks its playing conditions regularly, and several changes from 2025 and October 2026 apply across cricket formats:
- Boundary catches: a fielder who touches the ball while airborne beyond the rope must land back inside the field for the catch to stand.
- Deliberate short runs: the five-run penalty remains, and the fielding side now chooses which batter faces the next ball.
- Concussion replacements: teams must name designated replacements before the match.
- Wides: in ODIs and T20Is, a wide is judged against where the batter’s legs are when the ball is bowled, now a permanent rule.
- Batter time-wasting: from October 2026, a batter not ready to face in time gets two warnings, then the fielding side receives five penalty runs.
Full details are in the official playing conditions on the ICC website.
The World Test Championship
The World Test Championship (WTC) gives the longest of the cricket formats a league structure, so every Test series carries context. Nine teams play six series each over a two-year cycle, three at home and three away, and the top two meet in a one-off final.
- Points: 12 for a win, 6 for a tie, 4 for a draw, nothing for a loss.
- Ranking: by percentage of available points won, so teams playing different numbers of Tests can be compared. Slow over rates can cost points.
- Champions so far: New Zealand (2021), Australia (2023) and South Africa (2025).
The 2025-27 final is scheduled for The Oval in London from 9-13 June 2027.
Major tournaments across the cricket formats
ICC events
| Tournament | Format | Most recent / next edition |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s Cricket World Cup | ODI | Australia won in 2023; 2027 edition in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia (October-November) |
| Men’s T20 World Cup | T20 | India beat New Zealand in the 2026 final for their third title |
| Champions Trophy | ODI | India won in 2025 |
| Women’s Cricket World Cup | ODI | India beat South Africa in 2025 for their first title |
| Women’s T20 World Cup | T20 | Australia beat hosts England in the 2026 final at Lord’s |
| World Test Championship | Test | South Africa won in 2025; next final in June 2027 |
Franchise leagues
Franchise leagues stick to the shortest cricket formats, almost all T20 or less, and they draw the world’s best players.
- Indian Premier League (IPL): the richest and most-watched league, with 10 teams, usually running from March to May.
- Pakistan Super League (PSL): expanded to eight teams in 2026; Peshawar Zalmi won that season’s title.
- Big Bash League (BBL): Australia’s eight-team league, played over the December-January summer holidays.
- The Hundred: eight men’s and eight women’s teams in England and Wales, staged each summer.
- Others: the SA20 in South Africa and the Caribbean Premier League are also well established.
To plan your viewing, check our major sporting events calendar for 2027.
Which cricket format should you watch first?
If you are new to the sport, start with T20. A match fits into an evening, every over matters, and the rules you need are simple: score runs, protect your wicket, chase the target.
Next, try an ODI. The extra 30 overs add a middle phase where batters build and bowlers squeeze, so you will start to see strategy. Finally, watch a few sessions of a Test. Once you appreciate how pitch wear, weather and fatigue shape five days, many fans find it the most rewarding of all the cricket formats.
Love learning how sports work? Our guides to football (soccer) rules and tennis scoring take the same plain-English approach.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the three main cricket formats?
The three international cricket formats are Test cricket, One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). Tests give each side two innings over up to five days, ODIs give each side 50 overs, and T20Is give each side 20 overs. Domestic variants such as The Hundred also exist.
What is the main difference between Test vs ODI vs T20?
The main difference is length. Tests have no over limit and last up to five days, ODIs last about a day with 50 overs a side, and T20s take around three hours with 20 overs a side. Tests use a red ball and white kit; the shorter formats use a white ball and coloured clothing.
Can a Test match end in a draw?
Yes. If time runs out before one side has won, the Test is drawn, even if one team is far ahead. That is why captains declare to give their bowlers time to take 20 wickets. A tie is different: it needs the side batting last to be bowled out with scores level.
What happens if a T20 match is tied?
In T20 internationals, a tie is usually settled by a Super Over. Each team bats for one over with three nominated batters, and two wickets end the innings. If the Super Over is also tied, another is played until there is a winner, unless the competition sets its own limit.
Why do Test matches use a red ball?
The red ball suits long days in daylight and stays visible against white clothing. It also lasts longer than a white ball. Pink balls are used for day-night Tests because they are easier to see under lights, and from October 2026 teams can agree to trial them in daytime Tests.
Key takeaways
- Tests are two innings per side over up to five days; ODIs are 50 overs a side; T20Is are 20 overs a side.
- Only Tests can be drawn; tied limited-overs matches often go to a Super Over.
- DLS resets targets in rain-hit limited-overs games using overs and wickets remaining.
- The World Test Championship ranks teams by percentage of points, with the next final at The Oval in June 2027.
- New to cricket formats? Start with T20, move to ODIs, then fall in love with Tests.
