This is a list of England cricket captains, comprising all the men, women and youths who have
captained an
England cricket team
The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engla ...
at official international level. The international match categories are
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
,
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
A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...
(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
Alfred Shaw (29 August 1842 – 16 January 1907) was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings (5/35). He made two trips to North Ameri ...
and
Arthur Shrewsbury
Arthur Shrewsbury (11 April 1856 – 19 May 1903) was an English cricketer and rugby football administrator. He was widely rated as competing with W. G. Grace for the accolade of best batsman of the 1880s; Grace himself, when asked whom he wou ...
. 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
Martin Bladen Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke (16 August 1860 – 10 October 1938), generally known as Lord Hawke, was an English amateur cricketer active from 1881 to 1911 who played for Yorkshire and England. He was born in Willingham by Stow, near Ga ...
. 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
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...
(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
Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. ''Wisden Cricketer ...
in 1952. The amateur/professional distinction was abolished in 1962, though some former amateurs captained England after that. In 1971,
Ray Illingworth
Raymond Illingworth CBE (8 June 1932 – 25 December 2021) was an English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator. , he was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in first-class cricket.Arnold, Peter ...
captained England in their first ODI. In 1977, management of the England team was taken over by the former
Test and County Cricket Board
The Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) was the governing body for Test and county cricket in Great Britain between 1968 and 1996. The TCCB was established in 1968 to replace the functions of the Board of Control for Test Matches (established in ...
(TCCB) until 1 January 1997, and from then by the
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and ...
(ECB). England played their first T20I in 2005 under the captaincy of
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan (born 29 October 1974) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He served as England captain for the test team from 2003 to 2008, the one-day international team from 2003 ...
.
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
Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, ( Heyhoe; 11 June 1939 – 18 January 2017) was an English cricketer, businesswoman and philanthropist. She was best known for being captain of England from 1966 to 1978, and was unbeaten in six T ...
. England Women's first T20I was played in 2004 under the captaincy of
Clare Connor
Clare Joanne Connor (born 1 September 1976) is an English former cricketer who batted right-handed and bowled slow left arm spin. She held the presidency of Marylebone Cricket Club from 2021 until 2022. She made her England One Day Internation ...
.
The
England under-19 cricket team
The England Under-19 cricket team have been playing official Under-19 Test matches since 1974. Prior to 1991/92 they were known as England Young Cricketers.
Former captains include Mike Atherton, Michael Vaughan, Alastair Cook and Andrew Flin ...
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 Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
. 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
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
''.
The table of results is complete up to the fifth Test against
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
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
Alan Philip Eric Knott (born 9 April 1946) is a former cricketer who represented England at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI). Knott is widely regarded as one of the most eccentric characters in cricket and as o ...
,
Norman Gifford
Norman Gifford (born 30 March 1940) is a retired English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. Gifford played county cricket for Worcestershire, and Warwickshire County Cricket Clubs, and represented England in fifteen Test ...
,
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
Graham Paul Thorpe, (born 1 August 1969) is a former English cricketer who played for England internationally and Surrey domestically. A left-handed middle-order batsman and slip fielder, he appeared in 100 Test matches.
Early life
Thorpe wa ...
,
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood (born 26 May 1976) is an English cricket coach and former player, who played in all three formats of the game internationally for England. He played for Durham County Cricket Club and was the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 win ...
,
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
Stuart may refer to:
Names
*Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile
*Stuart (automobile)
Places
Australia Generally
*Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory
Norther ...
,
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...
and
Jos Buttler
Joseph Charles Buttler (born 8 September 1990) is an English cricketer who captains the England cricket team in limited overs cricket, and plays for the England Test team. In domestic cricket he represents Lancashire, having previously played ...
) 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
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in June 2022.
Twenty20 International captains
England played their first
Twenty20 International
A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...
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
Raymond Illingworth CBE (8 June 1932 – 25 December 2021) was an English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator. , he was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in first-class cricket.Arnold, Peter ...
, 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
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
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
Women's One Day International (WODI) is the limited overs form of women's cricket. Matches are scheduled for 50 overs, equivalent to the men's game. The first women's ODIs were played in 1973, as part of the first Women's World Cup which was ...
. The table of results is complete to the ODI series against
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
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
Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) is the shortest form of women's international cricket. A women's Twenty20 International is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between two of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members. The first Twent ...
. 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
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
in 2021.
References
Specific
General
*''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
(2004)''
Cricinfo
{{Current national cricket captains
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
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
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...