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This is a list of England cricket captains, comprising all the men, women and youths who have captained an England cricket team at official international level. The international match categories are Test,
One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
(ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I). International cricket began in 1877 when the England men's team played in the first-ever Test match. England have played more Test matches, and had more captains, than any other team. In the 19th century, the captains for overseas tours were chosen by the promoters. The early tours were mostly organised by professionals, especially
James Lillywhite James Lillywhite (23 February 1842 – 25 October 1929) was an English Test cricketer and an umpire. He was the first ever captain of the English cricket team in a Test match, captaining two Tests against Australia in 1876–77, losing the fir ...
, Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury. Some amateur-led tours went abroad under
Lord Harris Colonel George Robert Canning Harris, 4th Baron Harris, (3 February 1851 – 24 March 1932), generally known as Lord Harris, was a British colonial administrator and Governor of Bombay. He was also an English amateur cricketer, mainly active f ...
and Lord Hawke. Home captains were selected by the home ground authority, who often favoured a local player. For over 73 years, commencing with the 1903–04 tour of Australia and ending with the Centenary Test in 1977, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) organised international tours and selected the England team. On these tours, the team was called MCC in non-international matches and England in the internationals. MCC established a tradition of having amateur, rather than professional, captains. After Shrewsbury in 1886–87, there was no professional captain until Len Hutton in 1952. The amateur/professional distinction was abolished in 1962, though some former amateurs captained England after that. In 1971, Ray Illingworth captained England in their first ODI. In 1977, management of the England team was taken over by the former Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) until 1 January 1997, and from then by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). England played their first T20I in 2005 under the captaincy of Michael Vaughan. The England Women's team made their international debut on the 1934–35 tour of Australia and New Zealand when they were captained by
Betty Archdale Helen Elizabeth Archdale (21 August 1907 – 1 January 2000) was an English-Australian sportswoman and educationalist. She was the inaugural Test captain of the England women's cricket team in 1934. A qualified barrister and Women's Royal Naval S ...
. Women's internationals were played sporadically until the last quarter of the twentieth century when ODIs became frequent. The first ODI match was played in 1973 when England Women were led by Rachael Heyhoe-Flint. England Women's first T20I was played in 2004 under the captaincy of Clare Connor. The England under-19 cricket team began playing Test matches in 1974 and ODI matches in 1976. Their first captains were
Nigel Briers Nigel Edwin Briers (born 15 January 1955 in Southfields, Leicester, England) played first-class and List A cricket for Leicestershire between 1971 and 1995. Cricket career A right-handed opening batsman, Briers was Leicestershire's youngest-e ...
and
Chris Cowdrey Christopher Stuart Cowdrey (born 20 October 1957) is a former English cricketer. Cowdrey played for Kent, Glamorgan and England as an all-rounder. He is the eldest son of the cricketer and life peer, Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge. H ...
respectively.


Men's cricket


Test match captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the England men's team in at least one Test match. Where a player has a dagger (†) next to a Test match series in which he captained at least one Test, that denotes that player deputised for the appointed captain or was appointed for part of a series. The dagger classification follows that adopted by '' Wisden Cricketers' Almanack''. The table of results is complete up to the fifth Test against India in July 2022.


One Day International captains

This is a complete list of every man who has captained England in at least one
One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
. The most successful captain in terms of win percentage, after a minimum of 10 games, is Mike Gatting. Eoin Morgan is the only captain to lead England to a trophy, taking England to victory in the
2019 Cricket World Cup The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted between 30 May ...
. Nine men ( Alan Knott, Norman Gifford,
Adam Hollioake Adam John Hollioake (born 5 September 1971) is a professional athlete who is the only international cricketer to compete professionally as a Mixed Martial Artist. He has also competed as a professional boxer. However he is most well known as a cr ...
, Graham Thorpe, Paul Collingwood,
Eoin Morgan Eoin (, or ) is an Irish name. The Scottish Gaelic equivalent is () and both are closely related to the Welsh . It is also cognate with the Irish . In the Irish language, it is the name used for all Biblical figures known as ''John'' in Engli ...
, Stuart Broad, James Taylor and Jos Buttler) have captained the England ODI side without ever captaining the Test team. The table of results is complete up to the third ODI against Netherlands in June 2022.


Twenty20 International captains

England played their first Twenty20 International in June 2005. Eoin Morgan holds the record for the most games as captain of the England t20I team, with 72 which includes 42 victories. The most successful captain in terms of win percentage, after a minimum of 10 games, is Eoin Morgan. Paul Collingwood is the only captain to have led England to a trophy, however, winning the 2010 World Twenty20. The table is complete up to the end of the
2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup The 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the eighth ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament. It was played in Australia from 16 October to 13 November 2022. Although originally scheduled to be held in 2020, in July 2020, the International Cricket Counci ...
.


Other Men's captains


England v Rest of the World, 1970

In 1970, the proposed
South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...
tour of England was aborted. To replace the tour, a series of five games was played between a "Rest of the World" XI and the England Test team. At the time, these matches were thought of as Test matches. However, later they were stripped of Test status. England's captain in all five games was Ray Illingworth, who won one game, and lost the other four.


Women's cricket


Test match captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the
England women's cricket team The England women's cricket team represents England and Wales in international women's cricket. Since 1998, they have been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by the Women's Cricket Association ...
for at least one
women's Test match Women's Test cricket is the longest format of women's cricket and is the female equivalent to men's Test cricket. Matches comprise four-innings and are held over a maximum of four days between two of the leading cricketing nations. The rules gov ...
. The table of results is complete to the home Test against India in July 2021. Where a player has a dagger (†) next to a Test match series in which she captained at least one Test, that denotes that player was captain for a minor proportion in a series.


Women's One Day International captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the England women's cricket team for at least one Women's One Day International. The table of results is complete to the ODI series against India in July 2021.


Women's Twenty20 International captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the England women's team for at least one Women's Twenty20 International. The table of results is complete as of 14 July 2021.


Youth cricket


Test match captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the England under-19s for at least one under-19 Test match. The table of results is complete to 9 September 2021. Where a player has a dagger (†) next to a Test match series in which he captained at least one Test, that denotes that player was captain for a minor proportion in a series.


Youth One Day International captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the England under-19 team for at least one Under-19 One Day International. The table of results is complete to the end of the 3rd Youth ODI against the West Indies in 2021.


References


Specific


General

*'' Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2004)''
Cricinfo
{{Current national cricket captains English
National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
England captains England