One sport, three games
The Three Formats
The same skills apply across all three, but tempo, strategy and the value of a single wicket change completely. The healthiest thing about modern cricket is that all three are thriving at once.
The oldest and most demanding form. With no limit on overs and two innings each, a Test is a five-day examination of technique, endurance and patience — and a draw is a perfectly honourable result. Purists call it the truest test of a cricketer because the format hides nothing.
- Length
- Up to 5 days
- Overs
- Unlimited
- Innings
- Two per side
- Ball
- Red (pink under lights)
- Kit
- Whites
- Pinnacle
- World Test Championship
A single innings of 50 overs per side. Long enough to build, short enough to demand acceleration, the 50-over game is all about pacing an innings — when to consolidate and when to attack. It remains the historic heart of limited-overs cricket and crowns a true world champion.
- Length
- One day
- Overs
- 50 per side
- Innings
- One per side
- Ball
- White
- Kit
- Coloured
- Pinnacle
- ICC Cricket World Cup
The game compressed to 20 overs and roughly three hours, where every single ball is an event. T20 rewards power, fearlessness and clever variation, and its energy drives cricket's commercial boom through the world's franchise leagues. The easiest format for a newcomer to fall for.
- Length
- About 3 hours
- Overs
- 20 per side
- Innings
- One per side
- Ball
- White
- Kit
- Coloured
- Pinnacle
- ICC T20 World Cup
Side by side
| Test | ODI | T20 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | Up to 5 days | One day | About 3 hours |
| Overs | Unlimited | 50 per side | 20 per side |
| Innings | Two per side | One per side | One per side |
| Ball | Red (pink under lights) | White | White |
| Kit | Whites | Coloured | Coloured |
| Pinnacle | World Test Championship | ICC Cricket World Cup | ICC T20 World Cup |
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