A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the highest T20 standard. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket.[1][2] The first Twenty20 International match between two men's sides was played on 17 February 2005, involving Australia and New Zealand. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack reported that "neither side took the game especially seriously",[3] and it was noted by ESPNcricinfo that but for a large score for Ricky Ponting, "the concept would have shuddered".[4] However, Ponting himself said "if it does become an international game then I'm sure the novelty won't be there all the time".[5]
This is a list of Australia Cricket team's Twenty20 International records. It is based on the List of Twenty20 International records, but concentrates solely on records dealing with the Australian cricket team. Australia played the first ever T20I in 2005.
Key
The top five records are listed for each category, except for the team wins, losses, draws and ties, all round records and the partnership records. Tied records for fifth place are also included. Explanations of the general symbols and cricketing terms used in the list are given below. Specific details are provided in each category where appropriate. All records include matches played for Australia only, and are correct as of November 2021[update].
Key
Symbol
Meaning
†
Player or umpire is currently active in T20I cricket
As of November 2023[update], Australia has played 179 T20I matches resulting in 94 victories, 78 defeats, 3 ties and 4 no results for an overall winning percentage of 52.51.[6]
The lowest score conceded by Australia for a full innings is 73 when they dismissed IBangladeshduring the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup at Dubai Sports City.[14]
A T20I match is won when one side has scored more runs than the runs scored by the opposing side during their innings. If both sides have completed both their allocated innings and the side that fielded last has the higher aggregate of runs, it is known as a win by runs. This indicates the number of runs that they had scored more than the opposing side. If the side batting last wins the match, it is known as a win by wickets, indicating the number of wickets that were still to fall.[24]
Greatest win margins (by runs)
The greatest winning margin by runs in T20Is was Czech Republic's victory over Turkey by 257 runs in the sixth match of the 2019 Continental Cup.[11] The largest victory recorded by Australia was during the Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in 2016 by 134 runs.[25]
The greatest winning margin by balls remaining in T20Is was Austria's victory over Turkey by 104 balls remaining in the ninth match of the 2019 Continental Cup.[27] The largest victory recorded by Australia is during the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 against Sri Lanka when they won by 10 wickets with 58 balls remaining.[28]
A total of 32 matches have ended with chasing team winning by 10 wickets with New Zealand winning by such margins a record three times.[29] Australia have won a T20I match by this margin on three occasions.[26]
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (February 2024)
The narrowest winning margin by balls remaining in T20Is is by winning of the last ball which has been achieved 26 times. Australia has achieve victory of the last ball on two occasions.[34]
The narrowest margin of victory by wickets is 1 wicket which has settled four such T20Is. The narrowest victory by wickets for Australia is two wickets.[35]
The largest defeat suffered by Australia was against England in UAE during the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup when they lost by 8 wickets with 50 balls remaining.[28]
A tie can occur when the scores of both teams are equal at the conclusion of play, provided that the side batting last has completed their innings.[24]
There have been 19 ties in T20Is history with Australia involved in three such game.[38]
A run is the basic means of scoring in cricket. A run is scored when the batsman hits the ball with his bat and with his partner runs the length of 22 yards (20 m) of the pitch.[39]
New Zealand's Martin Guptill has scored the most runs in T20Is with 3,299. Second is Virat Kohli from India with 3,296 ahead of Rohit Sharma of India in third. Aaron Finch is the leading Australian batsmen on this list.[40]
Qualification= Minimum 10 Innings batted at position. Last Updated: 6 December 2023
Most half-centuries
A half-century is a score of between 50 and 99 runs. Statistically, once a batsman's score reaches 100, it is no longer considered a half-century but a century.
Virat Kohli of India has scored most half-centuries in T20Is i.e. 28 fifties. David Warner has scored most 50s for Aussies.[78]
Ramesh Satheesan of Romania holds the record for highest strike rate, with minimum 250 balls faced qualification, with 188.35.[83] Maxwell is the Australian with the highest strike rate.
Qualification= 250 balls faced. Last Updated: 23 February 2024[84]
Highest strike rates in an innings
Dwayne Smith of West Indies strike rate of 414.28 during his 29 off 7 balls against Bangladesh during 2007 ICC World Twenty20 is the world record for highest strike rate in an innings. Marcus Stoinis with his innings of 59* off 18 balls against Sri Lanka in October 2022 during the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup holds the top position for an Australia player in this list.[85]
Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan holds the record for most runs scored in a calendar year with 1033 runs scored in 2021. Mitchell Marsh scored 550 runs in 2021, the most for an Australian batsmen in a year.[87]
A duck refers to a batsman being dismissed without scoring a run.[91]
Ireland's Kevin O'Brien has the most number of ducks in T20Is with 12 such knocks followed by Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka, Soumya Sarkar of Bangladesh and Pakistan's Umar Akmal with 10 such knocks. Aaron Finch with 7 ducks has the highest number of such knocks for Australia.[92]
Bowling figures refers to the number of the wickets a bowler has taken and the number of runs conceded.[108]
India's Deepak Chahar holds the world record for best figures in an innings when he took 6/7 against Bangladesh in November 2019 at Nagpur. Ashton Agar holds the Australian record for best bowling figures.[109]
A bowler's bowling average is the total number of runs they have conceded divided by the number of wickets they have taken.
Afghanistan's Rashid Khan holds the record for the best career average in T20Is with 12.62. Ajantha Mendis, Sri Lankan cricketer, is second behind Rashid with an overall career average of 14.42 runs per wicket. Josh Hazlewood with an average of 18.02 is the highest ranked Australian bowler.[111]
Qualification: 500 balls. Last Updated: 18 September 2021[112]
Best career economy rate
A bowler's economy rate is the total number of runs they have conceded divided by the number of overs they have bowled.[91]
New Zealand's Daniel Vettori, holds the T20I record for the best career economy rate with 5.70. Adam Zampa, with a rate of 6.51 runs per over conceded over his 37-match T20I career, is the highest Australian on the list.[113]
Qualification: 500 balls. Last Updated: 9 August 2021[114]
Best career strike rate
A bowler's strike rate is the total number of balls they have bowled divided by the number of wickets they have taken.[91]
The top bowler with the best T20I career strike rate is Rashid Khan of Afghanistan with strike rate of 12.3 balls per wicket. James Faulkner is the Aussie bowler with the lowest strike rate.[115]
Qualification: 12 balls bowled. Last Updated: 7 March 2021[120]
Best strike rates in an innings
The best strike rate in an innings, when a minimum of 4 wickets are taken by the player, is by Steve Tikolo of Kenya during his spell of 4/2 in 1.2 overs against Scotland during the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier at ICC Academy, Dubai, UAE. Both Faulkner and Agar during their spells when they took five-wickets in an innings also recorded the best strike rate for an Aussie bowler.[121]
Kasun Rajitha also holds the dubious distinction of most runs conceded in a T20I during the aforementioned match. Adam Zampa with figures of 1/65 off his four overs against the West Indies in February 2024 holds the most runs conceded distinction for Australia.[126]
In cricket, a hat-trick occurs when a bowler takes three wickets with consecutive deliveries. The deliveries may be interrupted by an over bowled by another bowler from the other end of the pitch or the other team's innings, but must be three consecutive deliveries by the individual bowler in the same match. Only wickets attributed to the bowler count towards a hat-trick; run outs do not count.
In T20Is history there have been just 13 hat-tricks, the first achieved by Brett Lee for Australia against Bangladesh in 2007 ICC World Twenty20.[132]
The wicket-keeper is a specialist fielder who stands behind the stumps being guarded by the batsman on strike and is the only member of the fielding side allowed to wear gloves and leg pads.[136]
Most career dismissals
A wicket-keeper can be credited with the dismissal of a batsman in two ways, caught or stumped. A fair catch is taken when the ball is caught fully within the field of play without it bouncing after the ball has touched the striker's bat or glove holding the bat,[137][138] Laws 5.6.2.2 and 5.6.2.3 state that the hand or the glove holding the bat shall be regarded as the ball striking or touching the bat while a stumping occurs when the wicket-keeper puts down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground and not attempting a run.[139]Brad Haddin and Alex Carey is the highest ranked Aussie wicket keeper in the all-time list of taking most dismissals in T20Is as a designated wicket-keeper, which is headed by India's MS Dhoni and West Indian Denesh Ramdin.[140]
Carey has made the most stumpings in T20Is as a designated wicket-keeper among Aussies with Dhoni and Kamran Akmal of Pakistan heading this all-time list.[144]
Four wicket-keepers on four occasions have taken five dismissals in a single innings in a T20I.[146]
The feat of taking 4 dismissals in an innings has been achieved by 19 wicket-keepers on 26 occasions with Gilchrist being the only Australian wicket-keeper.[147]
Netherlands wicket-keeper Scott Edwards holds the T20Is record for the most dismissals taken by a wicket-keeper in a series. He made 13 dismissals during the 2019 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. Australian record is held by Gilchrist when he made 9 dismissals during the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.[149]
Caught is one of the nine methods a batsman can be dismissed in cricket.[a] The majority of catches are caught in the slips, located behind the batsman, next to the wicket-keeper, on the off side of the field. Most slip fielders are top order batsmen.[152][153]
South Africa's David Miller holds the record for the most catches in T20Is by a non-wicket-keeper with 69, followed by New Zealand's Martin Guptill on 62 and Shoaib Malik of Pakistan with 50. David Warner is the leading catcher for Australia.[154]
The feat of taking 4 catches in an innings has been achieved by 14 fielders on 14 occasions.[156] No Australian fielder has achieved this feat. The most is three catches on nine occasions.[157]
Pakistan's Shoaib Malik holds the record for the most T20I matches played with 122, followed by his teammate Mohammad Hafeez with 119 and Rohit Sharma of India with 116 games. David Warner is the most experienced Aussie player having represented the team on 87 occasions.[162]
MS Dhoni, who led the Indian cricket team from 2007 to 2016, holds the record for the most matches played as captain in T20Is with 72. Aaron Finch has led Australia in most matches for any player from his country.[165]
In cricket, two batsmen are always present at the crease batting together in a partnership. This partnership will continue until one of them is dismissed, retires or the innings comes to a close.
Highest partnerships by wicket
A wicket partnership describes the number of runs scored before each wicket falls. The first wicket partnership is between the opening batsmen and continues until the first wicket falls. The second wicket partnership then commences between the not out batsman and the number three batsman. This partnership continues until the second wicket falls. The third wicket partnership then commences between the not out batsman and the new batsman. This continues down to the tenth wicket partnership. When the tenth wicket has fallen, there is no batsman left to partner so the innings is closed.
An asterisk (*) signifies an unbroken partnership (i.e. neither of the batsmen was dismissed before either the end of the allotted overs or the required score being reached). Last updated: 31 October 2022[183]
Umpiring records
Most matches umpired
An umpire in cricket is a person who officiates the match according to the Laws of Cricket. Two umpires adjudicate the match on the field, whilst a third umpire has access to video replays, and a fourth umpire looks after the match balls and other duties. The records below are only for on-field umpires.
Ahsan Raza of Pakistan holds the record for the most T20I matches umpired with 49. The most experienced Australian umpire is Rod Tucker with 35 matches officiated so far.[184]
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
England
India
Ireland
New Zealand
Pakistan
South Africa
Sri Lanka
West Indies
Zimbabwe
United Arab Emirates
Australia v 