Twenty20, often abbreviated to T20, is a form of cricket originally introduced in England and Wales for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs.

A Twenty20 game is completed in about three and half hours, with each innings lasts around 100 minutes (with a 10-20 minute interval), thus bringing the game closer to the timespan of other popular team sports. It was introduced to create a lively form of the game which would be attractive to spectators at the ground and viewers on television and as such it has been very successful. The ECB did not intend that Twenty20 would replace other forms of cricket and these have continued alongside it.

Since its inception the game has spread around the cricket world. On most international tours there is at least one Twenty20 match and all Test-playing nations have a domestic cup competition. The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 was played in South Africa in 2007 with India winning by five runs against Pakistan in the final. Pakistan won the second tournament in 2009, and England are the reigning champions after winning the 2010 title.

Shaun William Tait (born 22 February 1983 in Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia) is a professional Australian cricketer, who currently plays only in the Twenty20 format. Tait plays domestic cricket for South Australia and is also a representative for Australia at Twenty20 International level; he has also represented his country in One Day Internationals and test matches. He is a right arm fast bowler. Tait retired from One Day International cricket on 28 March 2011, following Australia's early exit from the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Tait's delivery action is unique and marked by significant lateral twisting of the spine. The 'slingy' nature of his action has led to comparisons with former Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson. Dubbed "The Wild Thing", Tait is considered one of the fastest bowlers in the world and delivers the ball with phenomenal speed, at around 150 km/h, and occasionally faster. At T20 international on 5 February 2010 against Pakistan Tait recorded a ball measured at 160.7 km/h, the fastest ball ever bowled in Australia. Despite his speed, Tait has often been described as "erratic" and is capable of bowling many extras. His unpredictability, however, is seen as a weapon to some, and his exceptional strike rate seems to confirm this. Tait has also been criticised as "expensive", however others have mentioned that this is irrelevant, as his main role as a "strike bowler" is to take wickets rather than keep the run rate down.

Separamadu Lasith Malinga (Sinhala:සෙපරමාදු ලසිත් මාලිංග) (born August 28, 1983 in Galle, Sri Lanka) is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a specialist fast bowler with a rare round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga". He is very well known for his swinging yorkers which has been known to smash batsmen's toes if they do not see it come out of his hand. Malinga can also swing the ball early on in a match and this is an advantage to him. He is well known for his ability to take consecutive wickets: he is the first and only bowler in the world to have two World Cup hat-tricks, the first and only bowler to have taken three hat-tricks in ODIs and he is also the first, and currently the only, player to have taken four wickets in four consecutive balls in any form of international cricket. On 22 April 2011, he announced his retirement from Test cricket.

Malinga grew up in modest circumstances in Rathgama, and always enjoyed cricket. He often played out with friends on the sand banks and coconut groves by a river in his cricket-obsessed village. He first had his education at Devapathiraja College, Rathgama and then at Vidyaloka College, Galle. Later he moved to Mahinda College, Galle. Malinga started his cricket career at Vidyaloka College, where he was discovered by former Sri Lankan paceman Champaka Ramanayake. Champaka who was so impressed by Lasith Malinga's raw ability had invited him to join the cricket team of Galle Cricket Club. Champaka also helped him to join the first XI cricket team of Mahinda College, Galle.A short-lived attempt to make Malinga's action more upright led to much reduced pace and failing accuracy. Malinga promptly returned to his natural action with success, and with great encouragement from Champaka Ramanayake.

Ashley Fraser Giles MBE (born 19 March 1973) is a retired English cricketer. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club where he is now employed as Director of Cricket. Giles played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury.

Giles started his career as a fast bowler before an early injury forced him to become a slow left-arm spinner. He made his first-class debut for Warwickshire in 1993, but it was 1996 when he gained a regular place in the side, winning the NBC Denis Compton Award for being 'The Most Promising Young Player' at the club. Giles was awarded his One Day International debut against Australia in May 1997, and 36 wickets in the 1998 season led to his first Test match against South Africa, although it would be a further two years before he would play another Test for England.

He did not have the most fluent bowling action and was unable to turn the ball a huge amount, although at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m), he was able to use his height to extract plenty of bounce. As a right-handed batsman, Giles scored three first-class centuries, but his highest international score was only 59, an innings which helped England win The Ashes in 2005. Between November 2000 and the emergence of Monty Panesar in 2006 (during his first prolonged injury lay-off), Giles was England's first-choice spin bowler, although he was constantly having to justify his selection. This came to a head in 2004 when Giles considered retirement before a match-winning 9-wicket haul against the West Indies gave him the confidence to perform at the highest level.

Bradley John Hodge (born 29 December 1974) is an Australian and Victorian cricketer. He attended St Bede's College in Mentone, Victoria. He is a right hand batsman who bats in the middle order, as well as a part time right arm off spin bowler.

Hodge was a prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket, holding the records for the most runs (5,597) and most centuries (20) in Australian interstate one-day matches. He is also Victoria's highest ever run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield (10,474 runs). However, his opportunities to represent Australia were limited to six Tests and 25 one day internationals (ODIs).

Hodge debuted for the Victorian Bushrangers as a 19-year-old and was nicknamed "Glovelick" by Dean Jones for the fact that he shared a bunkbed with his brother at the time of his debut. He was also called "Bunkie" for the same reason.

Hodge played Lancashire League Cricket for Ramsbottom in 2000 and 2001 breaking the clubs batting record in 2001.

Hodge has played with County Cricket teams Durham, Lancashire and Leicestershire, where he made his highest first class score of 302*. During his time at Leicestershire he was accused of cheating by then Derbyshire captain, Dominic Cork by claiming a catch although it appeared that he had stepped over the boundary rope in a Twenty20 match in June 2003. Hodge denied the accusation.