Known by fewer, the main aim of introducing the T20 Cricket World Cup was to find an alternative to the Benson and Hedges Cup. Furthermore, ICC was looking for a tournament that was fast-paced, especially for those fans who had problems with longer versions of the tournament.
Therefore, ECB Marketing Manager Stuart Robertson in England proposed the T20 World Cup which not only helped ICC to restore diminishing fans but also boosted the number of sponsors.
The first tournament was played in the year 2007, which was won by team India against Pakistan in South Africa. Since then, the tournament has been played every two years with the exception that the ICC 50-Over World Cup should not fall under the same year. India are the present T20 World Cup holders, defeating England in the final of the T20 World Cup 2016 tournament, and have won the tournament twice.
The T20 World Cup history goes back to the year 2002 when the Benson & Hedges Cup ended, and the ECB was seeking a one-day match competition in its place. Earlier known as ICC World Twenty20, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup took its international inception in 2007.
The authorities together came to the conclusion that the tournament will be played every two years unless the event of an ICC Cricket World Cup is accidentally arranged in the same year. In that case, the T20 tournament will be held the year before.
Also Read: Men’s T20 World Cup Winners List
T20 World Cup History Background: How did it start?
In the year 2002, the Benson & Hedges Cup came to an end. In order to find a better alternative, the ECB needed another one-day tournament to fill its place.
Furthermore, the aim was to implement such a tournament that will become a fad for the youth in alluring massive crowds and increasing sponsorships. The history of the T20 World Cup is a success story in itself as they successfully accomplished their motto of exhibiting fast-paced, exciting cricket matches accessible to countless fans who were put off by the longer versions of the game.
The marketing manager of the ECB, Stuart Robertson presented a 20 over per innings game to county chairmen in the year 2001 and the match was decided with 11–7 votes in favor of adopting the new format. The first international tournament was held in 2007, in South Africa in the history ICC T20 World Cup. It was won by team India by beating Pakistan in the finals.
Also Read: India-Pakistan T20 World Cup History
First-ever 20 Over Tournament in T20 World Cup History
Fewer people know that the first official Twenty20 matches in the history of the ICC T20 World Cup were played on 13 June 2003 between the English countries.
The first tournament witnessed humongous success. In July 2004, the match held at Lord’s and played between Middlesex and Surrey lured a crowd of 27,509, the largest attendance for any county cricket game gathered ever after a one-day final since 1953.
The immense success of the aforementioned domestic tournament played a huge role in the history of the T20 World Cup. This provoked other cricket boards to jump on the bandwagon and the popularity of the format gained unexpected crowd attendance by many folds.
It also provoked the commencement of new domestic tournaments like Pakistan’s Faysal Bank T20 Cup and Stanford 20/20 tournament while exponentially increasing the financial incentive.
The West Indies domestic teams competed in the Stanford 20/20 tournament, financially supported by convicted fraudster Allen Stanford. He funded the team with at least US $28,000,000 money, the result of his enormous Ponzi scheme.
Also Read: Women’s T20 World Cup Winners List
