The franchise circuit

The BCCI created the IPL in 2007 and staged the first edition across April and May 2008, which Rajasthan Royals won under Shane Warne, beating Chennai in the final.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, IPL history · recall

The 2009 election ran across April and May and police could not cover both, so the BCCI moved the entire tournament to South Africa at a few weeks' notice.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the 2009 IPL · applied

With case numbers high in India, the 2020 season was held in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah from September to November, and the 2021 season also finished there.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, 2020 IPL · applied

Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two years after an inquiry into betting by people tied to their ownership; Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions replaced them.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the 2015 IPL verdict · applied

Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants were sold for large sums in 2021 and joined for 2022; Gujarat won the title in their first season.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, 2022 IPL · recall

Mumbai Indians won in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020; Chennai Super Kings in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, IPL records · recall

The top four go through; first plays second in Qualifier 1 and the winner is in the final, while the loser gets another game in Qualifier 2 against the Eliminator winner.

Source: ICC and IPL playing conditions · applied

The BCCI fixes one purse figure for every club and has raised it steadily; it was set at ₹120 crore for 2025, up from ₹100 crore.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the IPL auction · recall

Before a mega-auction a franchise retains a set number of players; for another it can match the top bid in the room with a Right to Match card and take him at that price.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on IPL retention rules · applied

Each team names five possible Impact Players and can send one on at the end of an over or the fall of a wicket, taking a fuller part than an ordinary substitute.

Source: ICC and IPL playing conditions · recall

The state Big Bash of 2005-06 to 2010-11 was replaced by eight city franchises, two each in Sydney and Melbourne, to widen the audience and the television deal.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, BBL history · recall

Sydney Sixers won the inaugural final against Perth Scorchers, and the two Sydney and two Melbourne derbies soon became the competition's biggest draws.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, 2011-12 BBL · recall

Perth Scorchers have played in a long run of finals and won the competition more times than any other club, a consistency no rival has matched.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, BBL records · applied

For years the Big Bash signed overseas players directly; from 2022-23 an annual overseas draft was added, clubs picking in an order set by the standings.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the BBL Overseas Draft · applied

The tournament is timed for the school holidays, starting in December and finishing with the final in late January or early February, when families are watching.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, BBL schedule · recall

The Women's Big Bash League began in 2015-16 using the same eight city identities and colours, and has grown into one of the strongest women's T20 competitions.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, WBBL history · recall

From 2019-20 the top five played a multi-stage series with names like the Knockout and the Challenger; it was cut back to the top four from 2023-24.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on BBL finals formats · applied

The Seven Network carries a set of matches free-to-air and Foxtel's Fox Cricket the rest, a split that replaced the earlier all-free-to-air Ten deal.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on BBL broadcasting · recall

The SA20 in South Africa and the ILT20 in the UAE both run in January and pay well, so some overseas players now choose them over a Big Bash contract.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the franchise calendar · applied

The men's Test summer runs at the same time as the Big Bash, so the leading Australia players appear only in the gaps between matches, which the league has long wanted to fix.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the BBL and the international calendar · applied

International cricket had largely left Pakistan after the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore, so the new league was based in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi to start with.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, PSL history · applied

From 2017 the final was played in Lahore and more games followed each year; the 2020 edition was the first with every match in Pakistan, at Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the PSL's return to Pakistan · recall

Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta made up the first two seasons; Multan Sultans were sold in 2017 and joined as the sixth team for 2018.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, PSL teams · recall

Islamabad United beat Quetta Gladiators in the 2016 final and won again in 2018 and 2024; Lahore Qalandars drew level on three titles in 2025, so the two share the record.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, PSL records · applied

PSL squads are picked in an annual draft, players slotted into categories such as platinum, diamond and gold at a set fee each, so there is no bidding war.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the PSL draft · applied

A 2017 Global League T20 was cancelled before a ball was bowled and the 2018-19 Mzansi Super League lost money; the SA20, backed by SuperSport, launched successfully in 2023.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, SA20 history · applied

MI Cape Town, Pretoria Capitals, Joburg Super Kings, Durban's Super Giants, Paarl Royals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape are each owned by the group behind an Indian Premier League club.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on SA20 ownership · applied

Sunrisers Eastern Cape, based in Gqeberha and linked to Sunrisers Hyderabad, beat Pretoria Capitals in 2023 and Durban's Super Giants in 2024.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, SA20 records · recall

At its launch the ILT20 required only one UAE player and one from another Associate nation in an XI, so up to nine could be overseas professionals, the most permissive selection rule of any major league; stricter quotas were announced for its fifth season.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the ILT20 · recall

For years the PSL has been played across February and March, a gap between the January leagues and the IPL, though crowding has since forced it to look at other dates.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the franchise calendar · applied

Each side faces exactly 100 balls, which the organisers judged a rounder and simpler count than 120 for a brand-new audience.

Source: ECB, The Hundred playing conditions · recall

A bowler delivers either five or ten balls consecutively, the ends change after every ten balls, and no bowler may bowl more than twenty in an innings.

Source: ECB, The Hundred playing conditions · recall

Only two fielders may stand outside the inner ring for the first 25 balls, after which the field can spread, roughly matching the T20 powerplay in proportion.

Source: ECB, The Hundred playing conditions · recall

The ECB approved the new competition in 2017 for a 2020 start, but the pandemic pushed the first season back to 2021.

Source: ECB, on The Hundred's launch · applied

Each city has a men's and a women's team playing double-headers at the same ground, and players are signed centrally, through a draft for the first five seasons and an auction from 2026, rather than retained by counties.

Source: ECB, The Hundred format · recall

Southern Brave beat Birmingham Phoenix in the men's final; Oval Invincibles won the women's competition, the first of four titles they would take across the two.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, 2021 Hundred · recall

Oval Invincibles won the women's title in 2021 and 2022 and the men's in 2023, 2024 and 2025, more than any other club in either competition; the franchise was renamed MI London for 2026 under its new part-owners.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, Hundred records · recall

The owners of Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals, along with Silicon Valley figures, bought into the eight teams, tying The Hundred into the global franchise system.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the 2025 Hundred sale · applied

The eighteen counties still play the T20 Blast, now scheduled around The Hundred; the One-Day Cup, sponsored by Metro Bank since 2023, is the parallel 50-over competition.

Source: ECB, on the English domestic season · recall

The One-Day Cup runs at the same time as The Hundred, so counties field fringe players and young prospects, which has turned it into a proving ground rather than a marquee event.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the English domestic calendar · applied

The CPL took over from the Caribbean T20 in 2013 and settled into an August-September window, marketed as "the biggest party in sport".

Source: ESPNcricinfo, CPL history · recall

Trinbago Knight Riders, linked to the Kolkata Knight Riders group, have won the CPL more often than anyone and went through the 2020 tournament without a defeat.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, CPL records · recall

Six franchises contested the first Major League Cricket in July 2023, most matches played at a rebuilt stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, MLC history · recall

MI New York, run by the owners of Mumbai Indians, won the first Major League Cricket final against the Seattle Orcas.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, 2023 MLC · recall

The USA co-hosted the 2024 T20 World Cup with the West Indies, and Major League Cricket's arrival in 2023 gave the country match-ready venues and a professional core.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on MLC and the 2024 World Cup · applied

The owners of clubs like Mumbai Indians and the Knight Riders hold teams in the SA20, ILT20, MLC, CPL and The Hundred, so players can move between linked sides across the year.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on multi-league ownership · applied

The SA20 and ILT20 both started in January 2023 and Major League Cricket in July, three new competitions in one year, which is why 2023 is seen as the moment the calendar filled up.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the 2023 franchise expansion · recall

Home boards control access through the No Objection Certificate, and withholding or limiting it is how they keep players available for national duty against the pull of the leagues.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on NOCs and the franchise game · applied

The ICC's Future Tours Programme covers bilateral series and global events but not the leagues, so the leagues schedule themselves and clashes are settled club by club.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the Future Tours Programme · applied

The SA20 and the ILT20 both run through January; the Big Bash ends then too, the PSL follows in February and March, the IPL takes March to May, and The Hundred, CPL and MLC fill the northern summer.

Source: ESPNcricinfo, on the franchise calendar · applied