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Cricket USA rules

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Ask anything about Cricket USA rules — answered from the rulebook below.

Cricket (T20) Rulebook

Twenty20 (T20) is the shortest mainstream format of cricket, designed to finish in roughly three hours. In the United States it is the format of the professional Major League Cricket (MLC) league, which launched in 2023 and plays under standard ICC men's T20 playing conditions.

1. Objective & Format

Two teams of 11 players compete on a large oval grass field with a central rectangular pitch 22 yards (20.12 m) long, with three wooden stumps (a wicket) at each end. A circular 30-yard ring is marked around the pitch for fielding restrictions.

Each team bats once for a maximum of 20 overs (an over is six legal deliveries), so a full match is two innings. The team batting tries to score as many runs as possible; the bowling/fielding team tries to dismiss batters and restrict runs. Each bowler may bowl a maximum of 4 overs. One team bats first (decided by a coin toss); the other then chases the target.

2. Scoring

Runs are scored when the two batters at the crease run between the wickets (one run per completed length) or by hitting boundaries:

  • Four (4 runs): ball reaches the boundary rope after bouncing.
  • Six (6 runs): ball clears the boundary on the full.

Extras add to the total without the batter scoring off the bat:

  • Wide (1 run): delivery too far from the batter to play a normal shot; the ball is re-bowled.
  • No-ball (1 run + free hit): an illegal delivery (e.g., overstepping the front crease, dangerous height); it is re-bowled and the next delivery is a free hit on which the striker cannot be bowled, caught, LBW, or stumped.
  • Byes / leg byes (1+ runs): runs taken when the ball passes the batter or deflects off the body.

3. Core Rules of Play

  • The bowler delivers from one end; after each over, bowling switches to the other end and the field rotates.
  • Powerplay: during the first 6 overs, only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle, encouraging aggressive batting. For overs 7–20, a maximum of five fielders may be outside the circle. (Under 2025 ICC conditions, powerplay overs in rain-shortened innings are now calculated by the nearest ball rather than the nearest over, set at 30% of the allotted overs, e.g., 1.5 overs for a 6-over innings.)
  • A dismissed batter is replaced by a teammate; an innings ends when 10 batters are out or the 20 overs are completed, whichever comes first.

Ways to be dismissed (out):

  • Bowled – ball hits the stumps and dislodges the bails.
  • Caught – a fielder catches a hit ball before it touches the ground.
  • LBW (leg before wicket) – ball strikes the pad in line and would have hit the stumps.
  • Run out – the wicket is broken while batters are between creases.
  • Stumped – the keeper breaks the wicket while the batter is out of the crease.
  • Plus rarer modes: hit wicket, obstructing the field (which now also covers deliberately handling the ball), and timed out.

4. Common Fouls, Violations & Penalties

  • No-ball / wide: penalty run plus a re-bowl; no-balls also trigger a free hit.
  • Slow over-rate: if the fielding side is not in position to bowl the final over by the cut-off time, one fewer fielder is permitted outside the 30-yard circle (four instead of five) for the remaining overs (in-game penalty under current conditions).
  • Dangerous/short-pitched bowling: repeated beamers or excessive bouncers earn warnings and can bar the bowler from bowling.
  • Ball tampering, dissent, and unfair play: punished with penalty runs, fines, or suspension under the ICC Code of Conduct.

5. Win Condition

The team that scores more runs wins. The side batting first sets a target; the chasing side wins by reaching one run more than that target, or loses if it is bowled out or runs out of overs first. If the scores are tied, the match is decided by a Super Over (one extra over each); if that is also tied, further Super Overs are played until a winner emerges.