Optimal Lineups in Twenty20 Cricket

This paper considers the determination of optimal team lineups in Twenty20 cricket where a lineup consists of three components: team selection, batting order and bowling order. Via match simulation, we estimate the expected runs scored minus the expected runs allowed for a given lineup. The lineup is then optimized over a vast combinatorial space via simulated annealing. We observe that the composition of an optimal lineup in terms of pure batsmen, all-rounders and bowlers has a greater emphasis on batting than is traditionally found in one-day cricket. As a by-product of the methodology, we obtain an “all-star” lineup selected from international Twenty20 cricketers.