Major Cricket Events Worldwide And What You Need To Know About Them

Like any major world sport, Cricket has its casual games between teams but it’s the major events every year that truly spice up the game. Cricket buffs and everyday sports fans across the globe wait eagerly for the year’s biggest events but for those new to the sport, knowing just what they are and what to expect as they roll around is a vital step! Here, we’re taking a deeper look into just what the major cricket events are worldwide, and what you need to know about each one.

ICC Cricket World Cup

The ICC Cricket World Cup is perhaps the biggest event across the globe within the sport. 2019 is the year of the next big event and teams and their fans alike are already getting ready to head out onto that pitch. Just like the FIFA World Cup in football, the cricket alternative takes place every four years, with a significant global qualification process that can run over a 5-6 year period. The process consists of a mixture of rankings and qualifying matches, with eight teams automatically qualified if they’re high enough in one-day rankings on a given date, and the remaining two teams being determined the year prior to the World Cup tournament through a series of qualification matches. As you might expect, this competition is only open to International Cricket Council (ICC) members, and the number of qualified teams can differ year on year.

ICC Champion Trophy

The ICC Champion Trophy is another International Cricket Council event and while it’s not quite as popular as the World Cup, it still sits as one of the major tournaments and events that happen in the cricket world throughout the year. This is another tournament that takes place every four years, with the next tournament due in 2021 and is played in a similar round-robin format to the main World Cup. This game initially started as a two-yearly competition, at least between2002 and 2009, after which it was reduced to a four-year competition instead. Regardless, with the addition of the World Cup, fans get to see the top eight teams play consecutively every two years.

ICC World Twenty20

The championship of the Twenty20 tournament takes place every four years like the previous competitions, with the next competition due in 2020, and has already established itself as a strong event in the cricket world. This competition is actually the final part of the Twenty20 playoffs, in which the leading teams will go through a preliminary round, a Super 10 round and the playoffs and over the years, has produced some of the strongest performances and the highest totals that the sport has seen in the short-form format. With 16 teams competing for this trophy, it’s easy to see why fans are so eager to watch every time this tournament comes around. What’s most notable about any Twenty20 match, however, is that the general format of player is much shorter than that of any other ICC competition. As a result, the pressure really is on players to get the best scores with limited wiggle room.

Ashes

This competition is one for British and Australian fans, but it’s certainly been attracting the attention of fans worldwide too. This heated competition between the two countries had been ongoing since 1882 and over the years has seen both countries thrash and fall with every passing series. While the early series shows just how dominant England was over Australia, this has certainly fluctuated over the years, with Australia dominating the competition on more than one occasion. The name ‘the Ashes’ was actually given to the competition by Australia in a humorous – or painful if you’re English! – obituary posted in a newspaper, claiming that English cricket had died, and that “The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.” Considering that both teams are still fondly playing in this ongoing competition, it can’t have been too painful.

Indian Premier League

India is well known for its fondness for the game and as a result, the Indian Premier League has since dominated the entire sport. This competition is a yearly offering, usually held between April and May so, of course, Cricket fans will now have to wait until next year to get in on the action. Despite essentially being a country-centric competition, the Indian Premier League is still watched by plenty across the globe, who’ll gather together to see 8 Indian teams battle it out on the pitch for the trophy. Back in 2010, YouTube even confirmed a worldwide deal for live Indian Premier League cricket to be broadcasted live on the site, proving just how in-demand and popular this particular competition really was.

Cricket has a special place in the hearts of fans across the globe, and even those who don’t tend to watch it on a regular basis can find themselves drawn to the bigger events regardless. Whether you’re a World Cup kind of person, or you enjoy immersing yourself in the action of the Ashes, there’s a competition out there for everyone to get involved with and enjoy. What will you watch this year?