'It provides young cricketers to play more cricket…': Hayden on Test Twenty

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Test Twenty, the world’s first mixed-gender cricket tournament, was launched in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The launch event was attended by legendary Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden, former Sri Lankan cricketer Russel Arnold, and Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma, setting the stage for a 10-match inaugural season that runs from 14 to 29 November 2026.

Ahead of the tournament, Hayden said that the Test Twenty offers players more opportunities and time to develop their skills.

“What makes this format particularly exciting is the opportunity it provides young cricketers to play more cricket. You don’t get better by playing less, and that’s something the game needs to address. With the current focus largely on 50-over and T20 cricket, Test Twenty offers players more opportunities and time in the middle to perform and develop their skills. The fact that boys and girls get to play together makes it even more meaningful. I believe this additional exposure and match experience will help accelerate the development of young cricketers,” he said.

He also feels that the format is a good pathway for young players to develop, gain experience and progress in their cricketing journeys.

“I see Test Twenty as a very good pathway product for the next generation. It is not trying to replace or compete with the existing high-performance structures, but rather complement them by providing young players with another platform to develop, gain experience and progress in their cricketing journeys. I think that’s a great initiative,” said Hayden.

Test Twenty: Tournament’s rules

Every Test Twenty match is played in a single day. Each team bats twice. The first 40 overs are played in whites, with the red ball, in daylight. The last 40 are played in colour, with the white ball, under the SSC floodlights. It is the first time the red ball and the white ball will be used in the same match. Scores carry forward from the first half to the second. A run scored in the afternoon is still alive at night.

Each of the 4 continental teams fields a squad of 20 girls and 20 boys. In every match, girls play girls and boys play boys. Then their scores combine on one scoreboard, and only the combined total wins.

A toss decides who bats first. Under the Parity Rule, what she scores by day decides whether he wins under lights. What he scores under lights decides whether she wins. The next day, the toss may turn it round.

The girls’ game is not a curtain-raiser. It is half the result.

It changes the dugout too. Girls and boys sit side by side, all day, under one crest, watching every ball the other XI faces, because every run they score is a run their own side needs.

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