All about the England Cricket Team

The England cricket team, despite its name, represents Wales as well as England in international cricket. They have been governed by the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) since 1997. They are one of the founding members of the ICC, so have been an ICC Full Member since the 15th June 1909.

This article will look at the history of the England team, the colours they wear in matches, who their best players currently are, what trophies they have won, their overall results against other nations, before finishing up with a look at how they are currently playing.

Let’s Look at the History of England Cricket

England Cricket TeamEngland Cricket Team

A team with a possible claim of being the first England cricket side appeared in 1739 when eleven men from all around the country (apart from Kent), took on the county of Kent and lost by a very small margin. These matches were repeated for nearly a century. Then, in 1846, the All-England XI was formed by William Clarke. This team played against a United All-England XI with yearly matches being played from 1847 to 1856.

England’s first overseas tour happened in 1859 when they toured North America. The squad had six players from the United All-England XI and another six from the All-England XI. However, not much attention was paid to this tour as the American Civil War broke out at the same time.

In 1861-62, an English team toured Australia. Before 1877, touring teams were playing against the odds as the opponents often fielded extra players to supposedly make the contest fairer. England were successful on this tour, so they toured Australia again in 1863-64. In 1877, James Lillywhite went to Australia to play an Australian XI. This was the first time a match was played with 11 players on both sides. This match, which started on the 15th March, is now regarded as the first test match ever. The Australia XI won the match by 45 runs. The two teams faced each other again in Easter the same year, with Lillywhite’s team being the victors this time by 4 wickets. In 1882, England lost a home series to Australia 1-0. This led to a newspaper stating that England cricket had died and that its body will now be cremated and taken back to Australia. This meant that the following tour of Australia in 1882-83 was deemed as an attempt to get the ashes back. England went on to win the series 2-1, and The Ashes, as we know it today, was born.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, all cricket was obviously put on hold. Their next match was during the 1920-21 season and was against Australia again. However, still not having fully recovered from the devastating war, England were annihilated and lost the series 5-0. They went on to lose the next two Ashes series too, but they won them back in 1929 when their formidable team beat Australia 4-1.

In the same year, the West Indies were given test status and made their debut in the test arena against England. They played three tests and England won each one by an innings. England then went on a tour of New Zealand in 1930 (they were awarded test status the same year) and beat them 1-0. Once again, all cricket in England was stopped when the Second World War broke out in 1939.

When cricket resumed in 1946, England won their first match against India. They then lost to Australia in the 1946-47 Ashes, but then beat South Africa 3-0. From 1950-51 to 1958-59, England had a formidable team that did not lose a series. In 1959 they beat India 5-0, which is their only ever whitewash against India.

"From 1960 right up until the present day, the England test team has fluctuated between being poor, average, and very good. This can be said about their ODI team as well. However, at this moment in time, they have an outstanding ODI team and are current world champions, having won the 2019 Cricket World Cup."

What Colours does the England Cricket Team Wear?

What colours do they wear for test cricket and limited overs cricket? Here are the answers!

Test Cricket

When they are playing test matches, they wear the traditional cricket whites with the team badge (the three lions) on the left breast and NatWest logo (their sponsor) on the right breast. They have the option of wearing a white sun hat or a navy-blue cap that has the ECB logo in the middle. When they are batting, they make use of navy-blue helmets as well.

ODI and T20 Cricket

Their 50 and 20 over t-shirts have the NatWest logo in the centre, the three lions on the left breast, and a New Balance logo can be found on the right breast. In ODI cricket, the t-shirts are often a shade of blue and the trousers are navy, while for T20 matches the shirts are red and the trousers are navy. When England are taking part in ICC tournaments the sponsor’s logo is shifted to the sleeve and the name “England” is printed in the centre of the t-shirt.

Who Are England’s Best Cricket Players?

England have quite a few very talented players, four of which we will take a look at now.

Joe Root

Root is regarded as one of England’s best batsmen and is currently the captain of the test team. At the time of writing, he has played 109 test matches and scored 9,278 runs (23 centuries and 50 half-centuries) at an average of 50.15 runs. He is also a very talented ODI player. In 152 matches he has scored 6,109 runs (16 centuries and 35 half-centuries) at an average of 51.33. He also has a bit of a golden arm as whenever he bowls (which isn’t that often), he picks up important wickets.

Ben Stokes

Stokes’ figures aren’t as impressive as he would like them to be, but when he is in form there is arguably no better batsman to watch in world cricket. When he is in the zone, he will slaughter opposition bowlers for fun. Those who watched England’s tour of South Africa in 2016 will forever remember him smashing 258 from just 167 balls. More recently, he scored 84* in the ICC Cricket World Cup final against New Zealand to take it to a Super Over. All the other England batsmen had struggled on a slow pitch. He then batted in the Super Over and helped England to a famous win. However, he wasn’t done for the summer. He was played a major part in helping England draw the 2019 Ashes series. In the third test, England looked certain to be heading toward a defeat when they were bowled out for a measly 67 runs in the first innings. In the second innings they needed a record 359 runs to win. Many thought it was impossible, but Stokes disagreed and struck 135* to see his side home with just one wicket remaining. It has to be one of the best batting performances of all time.

So, what about his stats? Well, he has played 71 test matches and has scored 4,631 runs (10 centuries and 24 half-centuries at an average of 37.04. He has also taken 163 wickets at an average of 31.38. In ODI matches, he has scored 2,871 runs (3 centuries and 21 half-centuries) at an average of 40.43. He has also taken 74 wickets at an average of 41.59, which is quite high if we are being honest. He has played 34 T20 international matches and has scored 442 runs at an average of 20.09. He has also picked up 19 wickets. He will hope to better these figures in the future.

James Anderson

Anderson is one of the finest fast bowlers that England has ever produced and will go down as one of the best bowlers the cricket world has ever seen. In 166 test matches he has picked up an astonishing 632 wickets at an average of 26.62. He has taken ten wickets in a match 3 times and has 31 5-wicket hauls. He has played 194 ODI matches and has taken 269 wickets at an average of 29.22. He sits in third place on the list of leading wicket takers in test cricket. When the ball is swinging, he is close to impossible to play.

Jos Buttler

Not many would disagree with us saying that Buttler is currently the best wicket-keeper batsman in the world, especially in the ODI format. In fact, he is one of the reasons why England has become such a deadly team in the ODI arena. When he gets going, you had best watch out in the crowd as it is going to start raining sixes. He is so entertaining to watch due to the array of spectacular shots that he can play. In ODI cricket, he has played 148 matches and has scored 3,872 runs (9 centuries and 20 half-centuries) at an average of 38.72. In international T20 matches, he has scored 1871 runs in 82 matches at an average of 31.71. In test cricket he has played 53 matches and has scored 2800 runs (2 hundreds and 18 half-centuries) at an average of 33.33.

Overall Performances in World Cricket?

ICC Cricket World Cup

Year Round Position
1975 Semi-final 3/8
1979 Runners-up 2/8
1983 Semi-final 3/8
1987 Runners-up 2/8
1992 Runners-up 2/9
1996 Quarter-final 8/12
1999 Pool Stage 8/12
2003 Pool Stage 9/14
2007 Super 8 5/16
2011 Quarter-final 7/14
2015 Pool Stage 10/14
2019 Champions 1/10

*The 2019 World Cup final between England and India ended in a draw, so it went to a Super Over. This also ended in a draw, so England won due to the fact that they scored more boundaries in the match. There was an uproar about this, but if they had done who finished higher in the group, who had the best NRR, or who won the game between the two sides in the group stage, England still would have won. Some suggested New Zealand should have won because they lost fewer wickets, but this would have been unfair because England knew they had to sacrifice wickets in order to stay in the match.

ICC T20 World Cup

Year Round Position
2007 Super 8 7/12
2009 Super 8 6/12
2010 Champions 1/12
2012 Super 8 6/12
2014 Super 10 7/16
2016 Runner’s-up 2/16

ICC Champions Trophy

Year Round Position
1998 Quarter-final 5/9
2000 Quarter-final 7/11
2002 Pool Stage 6/12
2004 Runners-up 2/12
2006 Pool Stage 7/10
2009 Semi-final 4/8
2013 Runners-up 2/8
2017 Semi-final 3/8

*This tournament no longer exists as the ICC only want one major international tournament for each format of the game.

What Record Does England Have Against the Other Full Members?

Test Performances

OpponentMatches PlayedWonLostTiedDrawnWin %
Australia35111014609531.33
Bangladesh10910090.00
India130493105037.69
Ireland11000100.00
New Zealand107481204644.85
Pakistan86262103930.23
South Africa281536434041.83
Sri Lanka3617801147.22
West Indies160515805131.87
Zimbabwe6300350.00

* These stats are correct from the 18th October 2021.

ODI Performances

OpponentMatches PlayedWonLostTiedNo ResultWin %
Afghanistan22000100.00
Australia15263842342.95
Bangladesh211740080.95
India10343552344.00
Ireland131020183.33
New Zealand9141433448.83
Pakistan9156320363.63
South Africa6328301448.30
Sri Lanka7637361250.67
West Indies10252440654.16
Zimbabwe302180172.41

* These stats are correct from 18th October, 2021.

T20 Performances

OpponentMatches PlayedWonLosttiedNo ResultWin %
Afghanistan22000100.00
Australia198100144.44
Bangladesh------
India199100047.36
Ireland10001-
New Zealand211271162.50
Pakistan211361167.50
South Africa211190155.00
Sri Lanka12840066.66
West Indies187110038.88
Zimbabwe11000100.00

* These stats are correct from 18th October, 2021.

How is the England Cricket Team Playing at the Moment?

England have had a pretty mixed 2021 in all honesty. They started off the year with a comfortable 2-0 Test series win in Sri Lanka, and then they traveled to India to play four Tests, five T20, and three ODI matches. They lost the Test series 3-1, the T20 series 3-2, and the ODI series 2-1. They then welcomed New Zealand to England to play two Test matches, and lost that series 1-0.

Sri Lanka than traveled to England to play three ODI games, and England won the series 2-0. Pakistan were the next team to visit England, and they played a three-match ODI series, and a three-match T20 series. England won the ODI series 2-1. Next up, they welcomed India for five Tests and the series is currently in limbo since the final match was postponed due to health issues in the India camp - India currently have a 2-1 lead in the series.

Next up for England is the T20 World Cup, where they will be looking to go one better than they did in 2016 when they lost to the West Indies in the final. The end the year and start next year with a trip Down Under to try and regain the Ashes.