International cricket season
The 2020–21 international cricket season took place from September 2020 to April 2021.[ 1] [ 2] Tests , 49 One Day Internationals (ODIs), 50 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), 17 Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs) and 21 Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is) were scheduled to be played during this period. Additionally, a number of other T20I/WT20I matches were also scheduled to be played in minor series involving associate nations.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continued into the 2020–21 international calendar. The 2021 Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand was scheduled to take place during this time, starting on 6 February 2021.[ 3] [ 4] postponed by one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 5] [ 6]
In July 2020, the men's 2020 Asia Cup , scheduled to be held in September 2020, was postponed until June 2021.[ 7] West Indies tour of Australia was postponed,[ 8] against Australia .[ 9] against India was rescheduled to take place in early 2021.[ 10] Bangladesh's tour to Sri Lanka , originally scheduled to be played in July 2020, was moved to October 2020.[ 11] tour to South Africa was also postponed.[ 12] [ 13]
In September 2020, it was confirmed that the 2020 edition of the Women's Asia Cup , scheduled to be played in Bangladesh,[ 14] [ 15] Cricket Australia confirmed that the one-off Test match against Afghanistan , and the limited-overs series against New Zealand had both been postponed due to the pandemic.[ 16] planned tour to Sri Lanka was postponed for a second time, after both cricket boards could not agree on the quarantine requirements.[ 17]
International women's cricket started with the first WT20I between Australia and New Zealand , with Australia winning by 17 runs.[ 18] [ 19] [ 20] Ricky Ponting 's team in the 2002–03 season.[ 21] Zimbabwe's tour of Pakistan , with Pakistan winning the first ODI match by 26 runs.[ 22] planned tour to Spain was the next series to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after Scotland withdrew from the series.[ 23] against South Africa were postponed following a COVID-19 outbreak.[ 24] Cricket Australia confirmed that the India women's tour of Australia, scheduled to take place in January 2021, had been postponed by one year .[ 25]
In December 2020, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced a revised schedule for fixtures that had been postponed due to the pandemic that formed part of the qualification pathway for the 2023 Cricket World Cup .[ 26] Cricket World Cup League 2 matches scheduled to be played in Namibia and Nepal,[ 27] Cricket World Cup Challenge League series originally planned to be played in Malaysia.[ 28] Ireland were scheduled to play four ODIs in the UAE against the hosts. However, two matches were cancelled following a COVID-19 scare within the UAE's team, resulting in the tour schedule being changed on multiple occasions.[ 29] tour of South Africa being postponed,[ 30] Pakistan women 's tour of Zimbabwe being cut short after one match, following flight restrictions from Harare to Pakistan.[ 31] ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament, scheduled to take place in Oman and Papua New Guinea respectively, were also postponed.[ 32]
In January and February 2021, South Africa toured Pakistan for the first time in fourteen years , playing two Tests and three T20I matches.[ 33] win 100 T20I matches .[ 34] [ 35] [ 36] [ 35]
The following were the rankings at the beginning of the season.
ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings 16 September 2020 [ 38]
Rank
Team
Matches
Points
Rating
1
England 44
5,405
123
2
India 49
5,819
119
3
New Zealand 32
3,716
116
4
Australia 36
3,941
109
5
South Africa 31
3,345
108
6
Pakistan 32
3,254
102
7
Bangladesh 34
2,989
88
8
Sri Lanka 39
3,297
85
9
West Indies 43
3,285
76
10
Afghanistan 28
1,549
55
11
Ireland 24
1,256
52
12
Netherlands 5
222
44
13
Oman 12
479
40
14
Zimbabwe 24
935
39
15
Scotland 16
419
26
16
Nepal 9
161
18
Only the top 16 teams are shown
ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings 8 September 2020 [ 39]
Rank
Team
Matches
Points
Rating
1
Australia 22
6,047
275
2
England 22
5,959
271
3
India 35
9,319
266
4
Pakistan 23
6,009
261
5
South Africa 17
4,380
258
6
New Zealand 23
5,565
242
7
Sri Lanka 23
5,293
230
8
Bangladesh 20
4,583
229
9
West Indies 24
5,499
229
10
Afghanistan 17
3,882
228
11
Zimbabwe 18
3,442
191
12
Ireland 29
5,513
190
13
United Arab Emirates 23
4,288
186
14
Scotland 17
3,096
182
15
Nepal 23
4,148
180
16
Papua New Guinea 21
3,769
179
Only the top 16 teams are shown
ICC Women's T20I Rankings 2 October 2020 [ 42] [ 41]
Rank
Team
Matches
Points
Rating
1
Australia 29
8,438
291
2
England 30
8,405
280
3
India 32
8,640
270
4
New Zealand 23
6,197
269
5
South Africa 24
5,978
249
6
West Indies 26
6,126
236
7
Pakistan 24
5,516
230
8
Sri Lanka 18
3,631
202
9
Bangladesh 26
5,001
192
10
Ireland 13
2,180
168
11
Thailand 26
4,145
159
12
Zimbabwe 11
1,711
156
13
Scotland 10
1,491
149
14
Nepal 11
1,457
132
15
Papua New Guinea 11
1,423
129
16
Samoa 6
749
125
Only the top 16 teams are shown
On-going tournaments [ edit ] The following were the rankings at the beginning of the season.
The T20I tournament was postponed in July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 43]
[ edit ] The WT20I tournament was postponed in September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 15]
New Zealand women in Australia [ edit ] West Indies in Australia [ edit ] The tour was postponed in August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 44]
Zimbabwe in Sri Lanka [ edit ] The tour was scheduled to take place in October 2020, but did not take place, before being rescheduled for January 2022 .
Zimbabwe in Pakistan [ edit ] The T20I fixtures were originally scheduled to take place in October 2020, but were rescheduled for December 2020 after the T20 World Cup was moved back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 9]
2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League – ODI series
No.
Date
Home captain
Away captain
Venue
Result
ODI 4265 27 November
Aaron Finch Virat Kohli Sydney Cricket Ground , Sydney Australia by 66 runs
ODI 4266 29 November
Aaron Finch Virat Kohli Sydney Cricket Ground , Sydney Australia by 51 runs
ODI 4267 2 December
Aaron Finch Virat Kohli Manuka Oval , Canberra India by 13 runs
T20I series
No.
Date
Home captain
Away captain
Venue
Result
T20I 1114 4 December
Aaron Finch Virat Kohli Manuka Oval , Canberra India by 11 runs
T20I 1115 6 December
Matthew Wade Virat Kohli Sydney Cricket Ground , Sydney India by 6 wickets
T20I 1116 8 December
Aaron Finch Virat Kohli Sydney Cricket Ground , Sydney Australia by 12 runs
Border–Gavaskar Trophy , 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship – Test series
No.
Date
Home captain
Away captain
Venue
Result
Test 2396 17–21 December
Tim Paine Virat Kohli Adelaide Oval , Adelaide Australia by 8 wickets
Test 2398 26–30 December
Tim Paine Ajinkya Rahane Melbourne Cricket Ground , Melbourne India by 8 wickets
Test 2402 7–11 January
Tim Paine Ajinkya Rahane Sydney Cricket Ground , Sydney Match drawn
Test 2404 15–19 January
Tim Paine Ajinkya Rahane The Gabba , Brisbane India by 3 wickets
West Indies in New Zealand [ edit ] Ireland women against Scotland women in Spain [ edit ] The tour was cancelled in November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 45]
England in South Africa [ edit ] The ODI matches were postponed in December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 46]
Afghanistan in Australia [ edit ] The tour was postponed in September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 47] November 2021 .[ 48]
Pakistan in New Zealand [ edit ] Sri Lanka in South Africa [ edit ] Ireland in United Arab Emirates [ edit ] Two of the four matches were cancelled due to COVID-19.[ 49]
England in Sri Lanka [ edit ] West Indies in Bangladesh [ edit ] Pakistan women in South Africa [ edit ] Ireland vs Afghanistan in the UAE [ edit ] New Zealand in Australia [ edit ] The tour was postponed in September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 50] Cricket Australia rescheduled the tour to take place in January and February 2022 .[ 51]
South Africa in Pakistan [ edit ] The ODI and T20I matches were originally scheduled to be played in September to October 2020, but they were rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 52]
Anthony de Mello Trophy , 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship – Test series
No.
Date
Home captain
Away captain
Venue
Result
Test 2409 5–9 February
Virat Kohli Joe Root M. A. Chidambaram Stadium , Chennai England by 227 runs
Test 2411 13–17 February
Virat Kohli Joe Root M. A. Chidambaram Stadium , Chennai India by 317 runs
Test 2412 24–28 February
Virat Kohli Joe Root Narendra Modi Stadium , Ahmedabad India by 10 wickets
Test 2414 4–8 March
Virat Kohli Joe Root Narendra Modi Stadium , Ahmedabad India by an innings and 25 runs
T20I series
No.
Date
Home captain
Away captain
Venue
Result
T20I 1131 12 March
Virat Kohli Eoin Morgan Narendra Modi Stadium , Ahmedabad England by 8 wickets
T20I 1132 14 March
Virat Kohli Eoin Morgan Narendra Modi Stadium , Ahmedabad India by 7 wickets
T20I 1133 16 March
Virat Kohli Eoin Morgan Narendra Modi Stadium , Ahmedabad England by 8 wickets
T20I 1135 18 March
Virat Kohli Eoin Morgan Narendra Modi Stadium , Ahmedabad India by 8 runs
T20I 1138 20 March
Virat Kohli Eoin Morgan Narendra Modi Stadium , Ahmedabad India by 36 runs
2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League – ODI series
No.
Date
Home captain
Away captain
Venue
Result
ODI 4281 23 March
Virat Kohli Eoin Morgan Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium , Pune India by 66 runs
ODI 4283 26 March
Virat Kohli Jos Buttler Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium , Pune England by 6 wickets
ODI 4284 28 March
Virat Kohli Jos Buttler Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium , Pune India by 7 runs
Pakistan women in Zimbabwe [ edit ] The tour was cancelled in February 2021 due to flight restrictions.[ 53]
Australia in New Zealand [ edit ] England women in New Zealand [ edit ] Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan in the UAE [ edit ] Sri Lanka in West Indies [ edit ] South Africa women in India [ edit ] Bangladesh in New Zealand [ edit ] Australia women in New Zealand [ edit ] 2021 Oman Tri-Nation Series [ edit ] The series was postponed in February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[ 54] September 2021 .[ 55]
Australia in South Africa [ edit ] The tour was postponed in February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 56]
Pakistan in South Africa [ edit ] The tour was originally scheduled to be played in October 2020, but postponed in August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 57] Cricket South Africa announced that the tour had been rescheduled for April 2021.[ 58]
2021 Papua New Guinea Tri-Nation Series [ edit ] The series was postponed in February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 59]
Bangladesh in Sri Lanka [ edit ] The Test matches were originally scheduled to be played in July and August 2020, but the tour was moved to October 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[ 60] [ 61] Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced that they would be touring Sri Lanka in April 2021 to play two Test matches.[ 62]
Pakistan in Zimbabwe [ edit ]
^ a b c d e The tour was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
^ The tour was originally scheduled to take place in October 2020, but did not take place.
^ The T20I fixtures were originally scheduled to take place in October 2020, but were rescheduled for December 2020 after the T20 World Cup was moved back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
^ The ODI matches were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
^ Two of the four matches were cancelled due to COVID-19.
^ The tour was originally scheduled to take place in October 2020, but was moved to April 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
^ The tour was originally scheduled to take place in July and August 2020, but was moved to April and May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
^ a b c d The tournament was scheduled to take place, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
^ The tour was cancelled due to flight restrictions.
^ "Schedule for inaugural World Test Championship announced" . International Cricket Council . Retrieved 11 January 2019 .^ "Men's Future Tours Programme" (PDF) . International Cricket Council . Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019 .^ "ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 fixtures announced" . International Cricket Council . Retrieved 29 January 2019 .^ "ICC Women's Cricket World World Cup 2021 fixtures announced" . International Cricket Council . Retrieved 11 March 2020 .^ "India retains T20 World Cup in 2021, Australia to host in 2022" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 7 August 2020 .^ "ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 postponed" . International Cricket Council . Retrieved 20 July 2020 .^ "Asia Cup 2020 postponed in wake of Covid-19; ACC looks for window in 2021" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 9 July 2020 .^ "Australia v Windies on hold as part of schedule rejig" . Cricket Australia . Retrieved 4 August 2020 .^ a b "Tournament hubs, Afghanistan Test and Boxing Day: where does the Australia summer stand?" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 6 August 2020 .^ "England white-ball tour of India postponed until 2021" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 7 August 2020 .^ "Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka postponed" . Dhaka Tribune . Retrieved 24 June 2020 .^ "Pakistan's tour of South Africa postponed over Covid-19 fear" . Geo Super . Retrieved 28 August 2020 .^ "Pakistan confirms South Africa tour in April 2021" . Pakistan Cricket Board . 10 January 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2020 .^ "Asian Cricket Council Calendar 2020" . Asian Cricket Council . Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2019 .^ a b "Cricket for some, not for all - where does the women's game stand?" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 21 September 2020 .^ "CA confirms Afghanistan Test, NZ ODIs on hold" . Cricket Australia . Retrieved 25 September 2020 .^ "Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka postponed again as stalemate over quarantine continues" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 28 September 2020 .^ "Gardner, Schutt start Australia's summer in style" . Cricket Australia . Retrieved 2 October 2020 .^ "Aussie bubble burst as Kerr leads NZ to T20 consolation win" . Cricket Australia . Retrieved 30 September 2020 .^ "Australia women equal record 21-ODI winning streak with rout of New Zealand" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 7 October 2020 .^ "Australia thrash NZ to secure record-equalling win" . Cricket Australia . Retrieved 7 October 2020 .^ "Shaheen Afridi tops Brendan Taylor to make it 1-0 for Pakistan" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 30 October 2020 .^ "La Manga women's series off after Cricket Scotland withdrawal" . Cricket Ireland . Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020 .^ "England's South Africa tour called off after Covid-19 outbreak" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 7 December 2020 .^ "Indian tour adds to packed 2021-22 summer" . Cricket Australia . Retrieved 31 December 2020 .^ "Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 qualifying matches rescheduled" . International Cricket Council . Retrieved 16 December 2020 .^ "Two more ICC qualifying events postponed due to Covid-19" . International Cricket Council . Retrieved 23 July 2020 .^ "ICC Men's CWC Challenge League A postponed" . International Cricket Council . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .^ "UAE-Ireland ODI to go ahead on Monday after approval from health authorities" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 18 January 2021 .^ "Australia call off South Africa tour because of 'unacceptable' Covid-19 risk" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 2 February 2021 .^ "Update on Pakistan women's tour to Zimbabwe" . Pakistan Cricket Board . 10 January 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2021 .^ "Three Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 series postponed" . International Cricket Council . Retrieved 12 February 2021 .^ "South Africa confirms first tour to Pakistan in 14 years" . Pakistan Cricket Board . 10 January 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2020 .^ "Pakistan overpower South Africa to win series and bring up century of T20I wins" . International Cricket Council . Retrieved 14 February 2021 .^ a b "Gardner, Healy and Perry star as Australia shatter ODI record" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 4 April 2021 .^ "White Ferns outclassed as Australia set ODI world record with 22nd consecutive win" . Stuff . Retrieved 4 April 2021 .^ "Men's Test Team Rankings" . International Cricket Council. Retrieved 17 September 2020 .^ "Men's ODI Team Rankings" . International Cricket Council. Retrieved 17 September 2020 .^ "Men's T20I Team Rankings" . International Cricket Council. Retrieved 17 September 2020 .^ "Women's ODI Rankings" . International Cricket Council. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .^ a b "Australia Women remain No.1 in ODIs, T20Is after annual update" . International Cricket Council . Retrieved 2 October 2020 .^ "Women's T20I Rankings" . International Cricket Council. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .^ "Asia Cup 2020 postponed" . The Daily Star . 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020 .^ "Australia v West Indies T20Is postponed, IPL to not clash with any international cricket" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 4 August 2020 .^ "Womens Series versus Ireland Postponed" . Cricket Scotland . Retrieved 17 November 2020 .^ "South Africa v England: ODI series called off after Covid-19 tests" . BBC Sport . Retrieved 7 December 2020 .^ "Australia-Afghanistan Test postponed due to Covid-19 scheduling difficulties" . ESPN Cricinfo . Retrieved 25 September 2020 .^ "Australia-Afghanistan Only Test to be held in 2021" . Afghanistan Cricket Board . Retrieved 20 December 2020 .^ "UAE get go-ahead for final ODI of Covid-disrupted series against Ireland" . The National . 17 January 2021. 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September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 Ongoing
Australia
New Zealand
Ireland
Scotland
South Africa
Pakistan
Zimbabwe
England
India
2020 Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup
Sri Lanka
West Indies
Afghanistan
Netherlands
Oman
Nepal
United Arab Emirates
Papua New Guinea
Thailand
Samoa
United States
Namibia
Canada
Singapore
Qatar
Denmark
Malaysia
Vanuatu
Uganda
Hong Kong
Italy
Jersey
Kenya
Bermuda
