England | Team Bio

Despite England’s love affair with cricket, it’s fair to say that the England cricket team (known as the Poms) have had many different ups and downs with the game.  

One of England’s darkest hours on the cricket pitch is still immortalized to this very day in the form of the Ashes. A bi-annual event played against Australia, the Ashes first came to prominence in 1882, when Australia beat England for the very first time on English soil.

Upon hearing the news, a mock obituary was posted in the Sporting Times, mocking the so-called passing of English cricket. 

The England team cricket players were so embarrassed by the defeat that when the sides met in 1883, England captain Ivo Bligh stated that his main intention ahead of the series was to recover “those Ashes”. The phrase caught on and has been immortalized ever since, with England and Australia playing a five-test series every two years.  

Due to England’s proud cricketing history, the country has numerous famous cricket grounds. The most iconic is Lords. Situated close to the center of London, Lords has been recognized as the home of cricket, with the first match being played there in 1814.

England rankings

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the governing body of world cricket and is responsible for the world rankings across the different formats of the game. Below is where England currently stand.

Largest victories

An English player’s career can often be defined by what they do in the Ashes, and Ian Botham will never be forgotten due to his exploits in the 1981 series that helped England win the series 3-1. Since 1981, there have been several other famous Ashes victories that have made their way into English cricketing folklore. The 2005 Ashes series is often regarded by pundits as the greatest series ever played. England had gone almost 20 years without winning the Ashes, but under the excellent captaincy of Michael Vaughan, they would win the series 3-1, sparking mass jubilation up and down the country. Away from the Ashes, England have recorded success in the other formats of the game.

In 2019, England won the ODI World Cup for the first time, and they backed up this win in 2022 when they became the first international side to simultaneously hold both the ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup. England’s win in 2022 was the second time that they have lifted the T20 World Cup.

Famous rivalries

Without doubt, England’s rivalry with Australia is one of the fiercest in all of sports. The Ashes captures the imagination of the sporting world, but also creates mass headlines whenever the two sides meet across the different formats of the game.

Batting records

Over the course of English cricket history, there have been many fine England cricket team players to have graced the game. Here are some of the greatest.

Most test runs for England

The current highest English run scorer in test cricket is former captain Alastair Cook. Cook retired from test cricket back in 2018 and played 161 matches for England. He finished his career having scored 12,472 runs, averaging 45 runs per innings. Cook’s time at the top of the standings might be short-lived, as Joe Root is now only 2,000 runs behind and looks set to break the record over the next few years.

Most test wickets for England

James Anderson stands alone at the top of the rankings when it comes to the most amount of test wickets by an English bowler. Anderson has taken 675 wickets at an average of 26.13. Despite being in his 40s, Anderson is showing no signs of slowing down and is still more than effective at the game’s highest level. Anderson ranks third in the all-time list and has taken the most wickets by a fast bowler.

Most T20I runs for England

Current T20 and ODI captain Jos Buttler holds the record for being England’s highest T20 run scorer. As dynamic a batsman as they come, Buttler stands alone at the top of the rankings, having scored 2602 runs.

Most T20I wickets for England

Fast bowler Chris Jordan holds the record for the most T20 wickets. Jordan has 95 wickets, which is just two more than Adil Rashid, who has 93.