The 2021 international cricket season took place from May 2021 to September 2021. 13 Tests, 56 One Day Internationals (ODIs), 45 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) were scheduled to be held in this season. The final of the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship took place in June at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, England, with New Zealand beating India by eight wickets. The 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship started in August 2021, with India's tour of England.
Qualification for the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup also started, with Scotland hosting the first regional qualifier group in August. Also in women's international cricket, 18 Women's One Day International (WODI) and 23 Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) matches were scheduled to be played, along with a women's Test match between England and India. Additionally, a number of other T20I/WT20I matches were scheduled to be played in minor series involving associate nations.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continued into the 2021 international calendar. In November 2020, the planned Cricket World Cup Super League fixtures between the Netherlands and England were postponed. The series was originally scheduled to be played in May 2021, but it was moved to May 2022 due to the pandemic. In February 2021, round eight of the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament, scheduled to take place in Papua New Guinea, was also postponed. In June, the ninth round of the tournament, scheduled to take place in Spain, was postponed until 2022. On 22 July 2021, Cricket Ireland confirmed that their home series against Zimbabwe would be rescheduled due to quarantine requirements needed for the visiting team. Later the same day, the second ODI match between the West Indies and Australia was postponed following a positive COVID-19 case. The Cricket World Cup Challenge League B tournament originally scheduled to be played in Jersey during September, was rescheduled to take place in Hong Kong in December 2021.
In September 2021, the fifth Test match between England and India was cancelled a few hours before the scheduled start, due to COVID-19 cases in the Indian camp. The match was rescheduled to take place in July 2022, ahead of India's white-ball tour of England.
Season overview Men's international tours Start date Home team Away team Results [Matches] Test ODI T20I — 1–1 — — 2–1 — — 2–1 — 0–1 — — 0–2 — 2–3 — 2–0 3–0 0–1 0–3 1–2 — 3–0 2–1 — 1–2 4–1 — 1–1 0–3 — 1–2 2–1 1–1 — 0–1 — — — 4–1 2–2 — — — 1–1 3–2 — — 1–2 Men's international tournaments Start date Tournament Winners 2021 Papua New Guinea Tri-Nation Series style="text-align:left" ICC World Test Championship Final 2021 Scotland Tri-Nation Series style="text-align:left" 2021 United States Tri-Nation Series style="text-align:left"
Women's international tours Start date Home team Away team Results [Matches] WTest WODI WT20I — — 3–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 — 3–2 3–0 — — 2–1 — — 1–2 — 1–4 1–1 — 4–1 2–1
Rankings
The following were the rankings at the beginning of the season.
ICC Men's Test Team Rankings 13 May 2021 Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 24 2,914 121 2 18 2,166 120 3 32 3,493 109 4 17 1,844 108 5 24 2,247 94 6 24 2,024 84 7 16 1,273 80 8 27 2,095 78 9 15 694 46 10 10 346 35
ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings 3 May 2021 Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 17 2,054 121 2 25 2,945 118 3 29 3,344 115 4 27 3,100 115 5 20 2,137 107 6 24 2,323 97 7 24 2,157 90 8 27 2,222 82 9 21 1,652 79 10 17 1,054 62 11 2 99 50 12 18 818 45 13 15 588 39 14 7 240 34 15 5 148 30 16 5 119 24Only the top 16 teams are shown
ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings 3 May 2021 Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 22 6,088 277 2 25 6,811 272 3 23 6,048 263 4 30 7,818 261 5 23 5,930 258 6 19 4,703 248 7 12 2,826 236 8 13 2,957 227 9 13 2,921 225 10 18 3,992 222 11 19 3,628 191 12 18 3,388 188 13 19 3,556 187 14 11 2,035 185 15 11 2,023 184 16 14 2,501 179Only the top 16 teams are shown
ICC Women's ODI Rankings 11 April 2021 Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 18 2,955 164 2 24 2,828 118 3 17 1,993 117 4 20 2,226 111 5 21 1,947 93 6 12 1,025 85 7 15 1,101 73 8 5 306 61 9 11 519 47 10 2 25 13
ICC Women's T20I Rankings 30 March 2021 Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 31 8,967 289 2 33 9,358 284 3 35 9,344 267 4 28 7,474 267 5 30 7,569 252 6 26 6,126 236 7 27 6,216 230 8 18 3,631 202 9 26 5,001 192 10 13 2,180 168 11 26 4,145 159 12 11 1,711 156 13 10 1,491 149 14 11 1,457 132 15 11 1,423 129 16 6 749 125Only the top 16 teams are shown
On-going tournaments The following were the rankings at the beginning of the season.
2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship Rank Team Series 1 6 72.2% 2 5 70.0% 3 4 69.2% 4 6 61.4% 5 5.5 43.3% 6 5 33.3% 7 4 30.0% 8 6 27.8% 9 3.5 4.8%Full Table
2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League Rank Team Matches Points 1 9 40 2 6 40 3 6 40 4 3 30 5 3 30 6 6 30 7 6 30 8 6 29 9 3 10 10 6 10 11 3 9 12 0 0 13 3 −2Full Table
2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 Rank Team Matches Points 1 10 16 2 12 12 3 8 9 4 7 8 5 7 7 6 4 4 7 8 0Full Table
2019–22 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League League A Rank Team Matches Points 1 5 8 2 5 8 3 5 6 4 5 4 5 5 2 6 5 2Full Table
2019–22 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League League B Rank Team Matches Points 1 5 10 2 5 7 3 5 5 4 5 4 5 5 3 6 5 1Full Table
May Scotland in Netherlands
ODI series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result ODI 4288 19 May Pieter Seelaar Kyle Coetzer Hazelaarweg Stadion, Rotterdam by 14 runs ODI 4289 20 May Pieter Seelaar Kyle Coetzer Hazelaarweg Stadion, Rotterdam by 6 wickets
Sri Lanka in Bangladesh
The tour was originally scheduled to take place in December 2020, but was moved to May 2021. 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League – ODI series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result ODI 4290 23 May Tamim Iqbal Kusal Perera Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka by 33 runs ODI 4291 25 May Tamim Iqbal Kusal Perera Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka by 103 runs (DLS) ODI 4292 28 May Tamim Iqbal Kusal Perera Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka by 97 runs
Scotland women in Ireland
WT20I series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result WT20I 892 24 May Laura Delany Kathryn Bryce Stormont, Belfast by 11 runs WT20I 893 25 May Laura Delany Kathryn Bryce Stormont, Belfast by 61 runs WT20I 894 26 May Laura Delany Kathryn Bryce Stormont, Belfast by 41 runs WT20I 895 27 May Laura Delany Kathryn Bryce Stormont, Belfast by 6 wickets
2021 Papua New Guinea Tri-Nation Series
The series was postponed in February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 – Tri-series No. Date Team 1 Captain 1 Team 2 Captain 2 Venue Result [ 1st ODI] May Amini Park, Port Moresby [ 2nd ODI] May Amini Park, Port Moresby [ 3rd ODI] May Amini Park, Port Moresby [ 4th ODI] May Amini Park, Port Moresby [ 5th ODI] May Amini Park, Port Moresby [ 6th ODI] May Amini Park, Port Moresby
June Ireland in Netherlands
2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League – ODI series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result ODI 4293 2 June Pieter Seelaar Andrew Balbirnie Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd, Utrecht by 1 run ODI 4294 4 June Pieter Seelaar Andrew Balbirnie Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd, Utrecht by 8 wickets ODI 4295 7 June Pieter Seelaar Andrew Balbirnie Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd, Utrecht by 4 wickets
New Zealand in England
Test series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result Test 2422 2–6 June Joe Root Kane Williamson Lord's, London Match drawn Test 2423 10–14 June Joe Root Tom Latham Edgbaston, Birmingham by 8 wickets
South Africa in West Indies
Sir Vivian Richards Trophy, 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship – Test series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result Test 2424 10–14 June Kraigg Brathwaite Dean Elgar Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Saint Lucia by an innings and 63 runs Test 2426 18–22 June Kraigg Brathwaite Dean Elgar Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Saint Lucia by 158 runsT20I series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result T20I 1176 26 June Kieron Pollard Temba Bavuma National Cricket Stadium, Grenada by 8 wickets T20I 1178 27 June Kieron Pollard Temba Bavuma National Cricket Stadium, Grenada by 16 runs T20I 1179 29 June Kieron Pollard Temba Bavuma National Cricket Stadium, Grenada by 1 run T20I 1180 1 July Kieron Pollard Temba Bavuma National Cricket Stadium, Grenada by 21 runs T20I 1181 3 July Kieron Pollard Temba Bavuma National Cricket Stadium, Grenada by 25 runs
India women in England
Only WTest No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result WTest 141 16–19 June Heather Knight Mithali Raj Bristol County Ground, Bristol Match drawnWODI series WODI 1198 27 June Heather Knight Mithali Raj Bristol County Ground, Bristol by 8 wickets WODI 1199 30 June Heather Knight Mithali Raj County Ground, Taunton by 5 wickets WODI 1200 3 July Heather Knight Mithali Raj New Road, Worcester by 4 wicketsWT20I series WT20I 916 9 July Heather Knight Harmanpreet Kaur County Cricket Ground, Northampton by 18 runs (DLS) WT20I 919 11 July Heather Knight Harmanpreet Kaur County Cricket Ground, Hove by 8 runs WT20I 920 14 July Heather Knight Harmanpreet Kaur County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford by 8 wickets
World Test Championship Final
Only Test No. Date Team 1 Captain 1 Team 2 Captain 2 Venue Result Test 2425 18–23 June Virat Kohli Kane Williamson Rose Bowl, Southampton by 8 wickets
Sri Lanka in England
T20I series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result T20I 1165 23 June Eoin Morgan Kusal Perera Sophia Gardens, Cardiff by 8 wickets T20I 1168 24 June Eoin Morgan Kusal Perera Sophia Gardens, Cardiff by 5 wickets (DLS) T20I 1174 26 June Eoin Morgan Kusal Perera Rose Bowl, Southampton by 89 runs2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League – ODI series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result ODI 4296 29 June Eoin Morgan Kusal Perera Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street by 5 wickets ODI 4297 1 July Eoin Morgan Kusal Perera The Oval, London by 8 wickets ODI 4298 4 July Eoin Morgan Kusal Perera Bristol County Ground, Bristol No result
Pakistan women in West Indies
WT20I series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result WT20I 910 30 June Stafanie Taylor Javeria Khan Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua by 10 runs WT20I 911 2 July Stafanie Taylor Javeria Khan Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua by 7 runs (DLS) WT20I 912 4 July Stafanie Taylor Javeria Khan Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua by 6 wicketsWODI series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result WODI 1201 7 July Stafanie Taylor Javeria Khan Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua by 5 wickets WODI 1202 9 July Stafanie Taylor Javeria Khan Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua by 8 wickets WODI 1203 12 July Anisa Mohammed Javeria Khan Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua by 8 wickets WODI 1204 15 July Stafanie Taylor Javeria Khan Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua by 4 wickets WODI 1205 18 July Stafanie Taylor Javeria Khan Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua by 22 runs (DLS)
July Bangladesh in Zimbabwe
Only Test No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result Test 2427 7–11 July Brendan Taylor Mominul Haque Harare Sports Club, Harare by 220 runs2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League – ODI series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result ODI 4304 16 July Brendan Taylor Tamim Iqbal Harare Sports Club, Harare by 155 runs ODI 4306 18 July Brendan Taylor Tamim Iqbal Harare Sports Club, Harare by 3 wickets ODI 4308 20 July Brendan Taylor Tamim Iqbal Harare Sports Club, Harare by 5 wicketsT20I series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result T20I 1196 22 July Sikandar Raza Mahmudullah Harare Sports Club, Harare by 8 wickets T20I 1198 23 July Sikandar Raza Mahmudullah Harare Sports Club, Harare by 23 runs T20I 1203 25 July Sikandar Raza Mahmudullah Harare Sports Club, Harare by 5 wickets
Pakistan in England