By Anjali Deshmukh
Reviewed by Rajeev SatheCricket is played in several lengths. A Test lasts five days and gives each side two innings. An ODI gives each side one innings of 50 overs. A T20 gives each side 20 overs. T10 cuts that to 10 overs, and The Hundred gives each side 100 balls.
Below we compare all five in one table, then take each in turn. We also explain why cricket keeps so many lengths, and how each one decides a winner.
What a format really decides
A format is the shape of the game. It fixes how long a match lasts. It fixes how many overs each side gets. It also fixes how a winner is found.
The basic skills never change. Bat, ball, 22 yards of pitch, six balls to an over. Cricket packages those skills in several lengths. That is the whole idea of a format.
Three formats are played between countries. The International Cricket Council writes a separate rule book for each one. Its playing conditions library lists the Men's Test Match Playing Conditions from June 2025, the Men's Standard ODI Playing Conditions from July 2025 and the Men's T20I Playing Conditions from July 2025.
Two more formats are shorter still. T10 and The Hundred are club competitions, not country games. They have no ICC rule book of their own.
The five formats side by side
The table below is the quick version. Every number in it comes from a rule book we opened. The rest of this page fills in the detail.
Table 1. How the five formats compare
Format | Length | Overs a side | Innings a side | Max per bowler | Rule book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Test | Five days, six hours a day | No limit | Two | No limit | |
ODI | One day | 50 | One | 10 overs | |
T20 | About three hours | 20 | One | 4 overs | |
T10 | About 90 minutes | 10 | One | Set by each league | League rules only |
The Hundred | About two and a half hours | 100 balls | One | 20 balls |
One line in that table needs a warning. T10 has no single rule book. Each league writes its own. We have not opened one, so we give no bowler limit and no powerplay length for it.
Test cricket: the long one
A Test is scheduled for five days. Each side bats twice. Nobody counts overs for the innings, only for the day.
The Test playing conditions set six hours of scheduled play a day. They also set a target of 90 overs a day, or 15 overs an hour, whichever finishes later. Overs missed on one day are not added to the next.
Because nobody has to chase in a set number of overs, a Test can end without a winner. That is a draw, and it is a normal result. We explain why on our longer guide to the five-day game.
Two tools belong only to this format. A captain can declare an innings closed. A captain who leads by enough runs can make the other side bat again. Both are covered on the Test page.
ODIs: 50 overs each and done in a day
An ODI gives each side one innings of up to 50 overs. No bowler may bowl more than 10 of them. The whole match is scheduled for one day, and the ICC conditions say no reserve day is set aside.
Fielders are limited in three blocks rather than one. Overs 1 to 10, then 11 to 40, then 41 to 50. Each block allows more fielders out near the boundary.
The ball rule changed recently. Two new balls are now used only for the first 34 overs. After over 34 the fielding side picks one of them for the rest of the innings. The ICC announcement calls this a move back to one ball in the last 16 overs.
Full detail sits on our page on the 50-over rules. That includes what happens when rain cuts the overs.
T20: 20 overs and a three-hour night
T20 is the format most Indian fans watch first. Each side bats once, for up to 20 overs. No bowler gets more than four.
The first six overs are the powerplay. Only two fielders may stand outside the 30-yard circle in that time. After that, five may. Those numbers come straight from the T20I conditions.
Short innings make small rules matter a lot. A no-ball gives away a run and hands the batter a free hit. A tie sends the game to a Super Over. Our T20 rules guide walks through each one.
T10 and The Hundred: the shortest games
T10 cuts the innings to 10 overs a side. It grew out of a league launched in the United Arab Emirates in 2017, described by Wikipedia's page on the Abu Dhabi T10. There is no ICC T10 playing conditions document, so league rules govern each event.
The Hundred is stranger and better documented. The ECB playing conditions give each side 100 balls, arranged as 20 overs of five balls. Two five-ball overs are bowled from the same end before the ends swap. Batters do not change ends between those overs.
A Hundred bowler may bowl 20 balls, which is one fifth of the innings. The power play covers the first five overs, or 25 balls, with only two fielders outside the circle. The format was created by the England and Wales Cricket Board, as Wikipedia's summary of 100-ball cricket records.
You will see the same innings described two ways. Some sources call it 10 overs of 10 balls. The ECB conditions call it 20 overs of five balls. Both mean the ends change after every 10 balls, so the shapes match.
Notice the shared idea. Test aside, every limited format caps a bowler at one fifth of the innings. Four of 20 overs, 10 of 50 overs, 20 of 100 balls. Each works out at 20%.
Why cricket keeps more than one length
Each format tests something different. A Test rewards patience and the ability to bat for hours. A T20 rewards nerve in a single over.
Money and time also matter. A five-day match needs five days of a fan's life. A T20 fits into an evening after work. Leagues fill stadiums with the short game and fund the rest.
Formats also protect skills. Reverse swing and long spells live in Tests. Ramp shots and slower balls live in T20. Drop a format and you lose a set of skills with it.
The lengths also feed each other. A young quick bowler learns control in the long game. She then uses that control to bowl a tight last over in a T20. Coaches in India often make that link out loud.
The ICC keeps a title race for the long game so it still counts for something. The World Test Championship table awards 12 points for a win, six for a tie and four for a draw, then ranks teams by the share of points won.
How each format decides a winner
This is where formats differ most, and where new fans get lost. A draw is possible in only one of them.
Table 2. Possible results by format
Format | Win | Draw | Tie | No result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Test | Yes | Yes, common | Yes, very rare | Not used |
ODI | Yes | No | Yes, then a Super Over in ICC conditions | Yes, if the side batting second gets fewer than 20 overs |
T20I | Yes | No | Yes, then a Super Over | Yes, if the minimum overs are not bowled |
The 20-over minimum in ODIs is in the ICC conditions we read. Clause 16.1.3 says a match where both sides have not had the chance to bat for at least 20 overs is a No Result.
Short formats need a rain rule instead of a draw. That rule is the DLS method, and it resets the target using overs and wickets. Our plain-English DLS explainer shows the sums.
League tables then need a tie-breaker between teams on equal points. Cricket uses net run rate. Our net run rate walkthrough works two examples by hand.
What changes for the players
Selectors pick different players for different formats. A Test needs a bowler who can bowl 25 overs in a day. A T20 needs one who can bowl four tight ones.
Batting changes too. In a Test, leaving the ball alone is a skill. In a T20, a dot ball is close to a mistake.
The pitch matters more as the match gets longer. A five-day surface breaks up and starts to help spin. A single T20 innings barely marks it. We cover that in our guide to pitch conditions.
Review rules differ as well. Test teams get three failed reviews an innings; ODI and T20I teams get two. The reasons are in our DRS explainer.
Even the toss carries a different weight. In a Test, a captain is thinking about day four. In a T20 under lights, he is thinking about dew in the second innings. Same coin, very different question.
Fitness loads differ as well. A Test tour asks for work across five days in a row. A T20 league asks for short bursts, night after night, with long flights in between.
How we checked these numbers
Cricket rules change often, so we do not write them from memory. Every figure here was read out of a current rule book or an official announcement in August 2026.
Where we could not find a current document, we say so. T10 bowler limits are the clear gap on this page. Our verification method explains the standard, and the corrections log records fixes.
You can browse every explainer from the guides hub. This page has no operator links and nothing to bet on.
Questions people ask
Which cricket format is the oldest?
Test cricket is the oldest of the three international formats. India and Pakistan, for example, first met in a Test in October 1952. One-day internationals came later, and T20 internationals later still.
Why does a Test match have no over limit?
A Test limits time, not overs. The ICC Test playing conditions set six hours of play a day and a target of 90 overs a day. An innings ends when ten wickets fall or the captain declares.
Is T10 an official international format?
No. The ICC publishes playing conditions for Test, ODI and T20 international cricket. T10 is run by leagues, and each league sets its own rules. We do not quote T10 bowler limits because we have no current rule book for them.
How many balls does a bowler get in The Hundred?
Twenty balls, which is one fifth of the 100-ball innings. The ECB playing conditions also allow only two fielders outside the circle for the first 25 balls.
Which format should a new fan start with?
Most new fans start with T20, because a match finishes in one evening. Tests reward you later, once you can read a slow session. There is no wrong order.
