Women's Twenty20 cricket is the newly emerging use of the Twenty20

Twenty20

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

 match format in women's cricket

Women's cricket

Women's cricket is the form of the team sport of cricket that is played by women.-History:The first recorded match of women's cricket was reported in The Reading Mercury on 26 July 1745, a match contested "between eleven maids of Bramley and eleven maids of Hambledon, all dressed in white." The...

. While both women's cricket and Twenty20 have themselves enjoyed recent success, women's Twenty20 has only been an international cricket game format since 2004. In June 2009, the ICC held the first Women's World Twenty20 in England, the hosts became the first World Twenty20 champion.

Format

The format of women's Twenty20 is no different from that of the men's sport:

• Should a bowler deliver a no ball
  No ball
  In the sport of cricket a no ball is a penalty against the fielding team, usually as a result of an illegal delivery by the bowler. The delivery of a no ball results in one run to be added to the batting team's score, and an additional ball must be bowled...
  
   by overstepping the popping crease, it costs 1 run and her next delivery is designated a free-hit, from which the batsman can only be dismissed through a run out
  Run out
  Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
  
  , for hitting the ball twice
  Hit the ball twice
  Hit the ball twice, or "double-hit", is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket.-Definition:Law 34 of the Laws of cricket states:Law 34 1...
  
  , obstructing the field
  Obstructing the field
  Obstructing the field is a rare method of dismissal in the sport of cricket.-Definition:Law 37 of the Laws of cricket provides that:"Either batsman is out Obstructing the field if he wilfully obstructs or distracts the opposing side by word or action...
  
   or handling the ball
  Handled the ball
  Handled the ball is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket.-Definition:Law 33 of the Laws of cricket provides that:"Either batsman is out Handled the ball if he wilfully touches the ball while in play with a hand or hands not holding the bat unless he does so with the consent of the opposing...
  
  , as is the case for the original "no ball".

• Bowlers may bowl a maximum of only 4 overs per innings.

• Umpires
  Umpire (cricket)
  In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
  
   may award 5-run penalty runs at their discretion if they believe either team is wasting time.

• If the fielding team do not start to bowl their 20th over within 75 minutes, the batting side is credited an extra 6 runs for every whole over bowled after the 75 minute mark; the umpire may add more time to this, if he considers the batting team is wasting time.

• The following fielding
  Fielding (cricket)
  Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
  
   restrictions apply:
  • No more than 5 fielders can be on the leg side
    Leg side
    The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
    
     at any time.
  • During the first 6 overs, a maximum of 2 fielders can be outside the 30-yard circle.
  • After the first 6 overs, a maximum of 5 fielders can be outside the fielding circle.

• If the match ends with the scores tied and there must be a winner, the tie is broken with a bowl-out
  Bowl-out
  A bowl-out is used in various forms of limited overs cricket to decide a match that would otherwise end in a tie. The procedure is similar to a penalty shootout in association football. Five bowlers from each side deliver one or two balls each at an unguarded wicket...
  
   (similar to a penalty shoot-out in football
  Football (soccer)
  Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
  
  ), with 5 bowlers from each side delivering 2 balls each at an unguarded wicket
  Wicket
  In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
  
  . If the number of wickets is equal after the first 10 balls per side, the bowling continues and is decided by sudden death.