<P> Twenty20 cricket , sometimes written Twenty - 20 , and often abbreviated to T20 , is a short form of cricket . At the professional level , it was originally introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board ( ECB ) in 2003 for the inter-county competition in England and Wales . In a Twenty20 game the two teams have a single innings each , which is restricted to a maximum of 20 overs . Together with first - class and List A cricket , Twenty20 is one of the three current forms of cricket recognised by the International Cricket Council ( ICC ) as being at the highest international or domestic level . A typical Twenty20 game is completed in about three hours , with each innings lasting around 75 -- 90 minutes and a 10 -- 20 - minute interval . This is much shorter than previously - existing forms of the game , and is closer to the timespan of other popular team sports . It was introduced to create a fast - paced form of the game which would be attractive to spectators at the ground and viewers on television . </P>
where was the first t20 cricket match played
in 2003 for the inter-county competition in England and Wales