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This is a list of all English national cricket captains, comprising all of the men, boys and women who have captained an English national cricket team at official international level. England played in the first Test match in 1877 and 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, with James Lillywhite, Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury being the main professional promoters. However, some amateur tours went abroad under Lord Harris and Lord Hawke. Home captains were selected by the home ground authority, who often went for their local favourites.

For around sixty years, from 1902/3, the Marylebone Cricket Club took over the organisation of all overseas tours, with the games played being technically by the "MCC" rather than "England". They brought with them the tradition of having amateur, rather than professional, captains, and after Shrewsbury there wasn't another professional captain until Len Hutton around sixty years later. The amateur/professional distinction was abolished in 1962, and a new breed of captain in Brian Close and then Ray Illingworth was born.

From the mid-1980s until the late 1990s, English cricket was in decline, with the England team suffering many heavy defeats. The desperation was most clear in the "summer of four captains" in 1988, during the West Indies tour of England, when the captaincy started with Mike Gatting, who was sacked after the first Test as a result of a dalliance with a barmaid. He was initially replaced by John Emburey, who was so poor as a captain that he was replaced after two Tests. Chris Cowdrey came into the team as captain for the fourth Test and was then injured. Finally, Graham Gooch became England's fourth captain of the summer. Unsurprisingly, England lost the five-Test series 4–0. From the late 1990s under Nasser Hussain's captaincy, England started to enjoy a revival, which continued under Michael Vaughan. England were the only team undefeated in 2004, and were, as at June 2005, ranked as the second-best Test nation in the world. Later that summer they regained The Ashes from Australia, having not held them since 1989.

Men's Test match captains[]

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the England cricket team for at least one Test match. It has been updated to the end of the Test series against West Indies in May 2009. 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 by the home authority for a minor proportion in a series. The dagger classification follows that adopted by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

English Test match captains
Number Name Year Report Opposition Location Played Won Lost Drawn
1 James Lillywhite 1876/7 Report Australia Australia 2 1 1 0
2 Lord Harris 1878/9 Report Australia Australia 1 0 1 0
1880 Report Australia England 1 1 0 0
1884 Report Australia England 2 1 0 1
Total 4 2 1 1
3 Alfred Shaw 1881/2 Report Australia Australia 4 0 2 2
4 A N Hornby 1882 Report Australia England 1 0 1 0
1884 † Report Australia England 1 0 0 1
Total 2 0 1 1
5 Honourable Ivo Bligh 1882/3 Report Australia Australia 4 2 2 0
6 Arthur Shrewsbury 1884/5 Report Australia Australia 5 3 2 0
1886/7 Report Australia Australia 2 2 0 0
Total 7 5 2 0
7 Allan Steel 1886 Report Australia England 3 3 0 0
1888† Report Australia England 1 0 1 0
Total 4 3 1 0
8 Walter Read 1887/8 Report Australia Australia 1 1 0 0
1891/2 Report South Africa South Africa 1 1 0 0
Total 2 2 0 0
9 W G Grace 1888 Report Australia England 2 2 0 0
1890 Report Australia England 2 2 0 0
1891/2 Report Australia Australia 3 1 2 0
1893 Report Australia England 2 1 0 1
1896 Report Australia England 3 2 1 0
1899† Report Australia England 1 0 0 1
Total 13 8 3 2
10 C. Aubrey Smith 1888/9 Report South Africa South Africa 1 1 0 0
11 Monty Bowden 1888/9† Report South Africa South Africa 1 1 0 0
12 Andrew Stoddart 1893† Report Australia England 1 0 0 1
1894/5 Report Australia Australia 5 3 2 0
1897/8 Report Australia Australia 2 0 2 0
Total 8 3 4 1
13 Sir Tim O'Brien 1895/6† Report South Africa South Africa 1 1 0 0
14 Lord Hawke 1895/6 Report South Africa South Africa 2 2 0 0
1898/9 Report South Africa South Africa 2 2 0 0
Total 4 4 0 0
15 Archie MacLaren 1897/8† Report Australia Australia 3 1 2 0
1899 Report Australia England 4 0 1 3
1901/2 - Australia Australia 5 1 0 4
1902 Report Australia England 5 1 2 2
1909 - Australia England 5 1 2 2
Total 22 4 7 11
16 Plum Warner 1903/4 Report Australia Australia 5 3 2 0
1905/6 - South Africa South Africa 5 1 4 0
Total 10 4 6 0
17 Honourable Stanley Jackson 1905 - Australia England 5 2 0 3
18 Tip Foster 1907 - South Africa South Africa 3 1 0 2
19 Frederick Fane 1907/8† - Australia Australia 3 1 2 0
1909/10† - South Africa South Africa 2 1 1 0
Total 5 2 3 0
20 Arthur Jones 1907/8 - Australia Australia 2 0 2 0
21 H D G Leveson-Gower 1909/10 - South Africa South Africa 3 1 2 0
22 Johnny Douglas 1911/2 - Australia Australia 5 4 1 0
1913/4 - South Africa South Africa 5 4 0 1
1920/1 - Australia Australia 5 0 5 0
1921† - Australia England 2 0 2 0
1924† - South Africa England 1 0 0 1
Total 18 8 8 2
23 C B Fry 1912 Report South Africa England 3 3 0 0
1912 Report Australia England 3 1 0 2
Total 6 4 0 2
24 Honourable Lionel Tennyson 1921 - Australia England 3 0 1 2
25 Frank Mann 1922/3 - South Africa South Africa 5 2 1 2
26 Arthur Gilligan 1924 - South Africa England 4 3 0 1
1924/5 - Australia Australia 5 1 4 0
Total 9 4 4 1
27 Arthur Carr 1926 - Australia England 4 0 0 4
1929† - South Africa England 2 1 0 1
Total 6 1 0 5
28 Percy Chapman 1926† - Australia England 1 1 0 0
1928 - West Indies England 3 3 0 0
1928/9 - Australia Australia 4 4 0 0
1930 - Australia England 4 1 1 2
1930/1 - South Africa South Africa 5 0 1 4
Total 17 9 2 6
29 Rony Stanyforth 1927/8 - South Africa South Africa 4 2 1 1
30 Greville Stevens 1927/8† - South Africa South Africa 1 0 1 0
31 Jack White 1928/9† - Australia Australia 1 0 1 0
1929 - South Africa England 3 1 0 2
Total 4 1 1 2
32 Harold Gilligan 1929/30 - New Zealand New Zealand 4 1 0 3
33 Honourable Freddie Calthorpe 1929/30 - West Indies West Indies 4 1 1 2
34 Bob Wyatt 1930† - Australia England 1 0 1 0
1932/3† - New Zealand New Zealand 1 0 0 1
1933† - West Indies England 1 0 0 1
1934 - Australia England 4 1 1 2
1934/5 - West Indies West Indies 4 1 2 1
1935 - South Africa England 5 0 1 4
Total 16 3 5 8
35 Douglas Jardine 1931 - New Zealand England 3 1 0 2
1932 - India England 1 1 0 0
1932/3 Report Australia Australia 5 4 1 0
1932/3 - New Zealand New Zealand 1 0 0 1
1933 - West Indies England 2 1 0 1
1933/4 - India India 3 2 0 1
Total 15 9 1 5
36 Cyril Walters 1934† - Australia England 1 0 1 0
37 Gubby Allen 1936 - India England 3 2 0 1
1936/7 - Australia Australia 5 2 3 0
1947/8 - West Indies West Indies 3 0 2 1
Total 11 4 5 2
38 Walter Robins 1937 - New Zealand England 3 1 0 2
39 Wally Hammond 1938 - Australia England 4 1 1 2
1938/9 - South Africa South Africa 5 1 0 4
1939 - West Indies England 3 1 0 2
1946 - India England 3 1 0 2
1946/7 - Australia Australia 4 0 2 2
1946/7 - New Zealand New Zealand 1 0 0 1
Total 20 4 3 13
40 Norman Yardley 1946/7† - Australia Australia 1 0 1 0
1947 - South Africa England 5 3 0 2
1948 - Australia England 5 0 4 1
1950 - West Indies England 3 1 2 0
Total 14 4 7 3
41 Ken Cranston 1947/8† - West Indies West Indies 1 0 0 1
42 George Mann 1948/9 - South Africa South Africa 5 2 0 3
1949 - New Zealand England 2 0 0 2
Total 7 2 0 5
43 Freddie Brown 1949† - New Zealand England 2 0 0 2
1950† - West Indies England 1 0 1 0
1950/1 - Australia Australia 5 1 4 0
1950/1 - New Zealand New Zealand 2 1 0 1
1951 - South Africa England 5 3 1 1
Total 15 5 6 4
44 Nigel Howard 1951/2 - India India 4 1 0 3
45 Donald Carr 1951/2† - India India 1 0 1 0
46 Len Hutton 1952 - India England 4 3 0 1
1953 - Australia England 5 1 0 4
1953/4 Report West Indies West Indies 5 2 2 1
1954 - Pakistan England 2 0 1 1
1954/5 - Australia Australia 5 3 1 1
1954/5 - New Zealand New Zealand 2 2 0 0
Total 23 11 4 8
47 David Sheppard 1954† - Pakistan Pakistan 2 1 0 1
48 Peter May 1955 - South Africa England 5 3 2 0
1956 - Australia England 5 2 1 2
1956/7 - South Africa South Africa 5 2 2 1
1957 - West Indies England 5 3 0 2
1958 - New Zealand England 5 4 0 1
1958/9 - Australia Australia 5 0 4 1
1958/9 - New Zealand New Zealand 2 1 0 1
1959 - India England 3 3 0 0
1959/60 - West Indies West Indies 3 1 0 2
1961 - Australia England 3 1 1 1
Total 41 20 10 11
49 Colin Cowdrey 1959† - India England 2 2 0 0
1959/1960† - West Indies West Indies 2 0 0 2
1960 - South Africa England 5 3 0 2
1961† - Australia England 2 0 1 1
1962† - Pakistan England 1 1 0 0
1966 - West Indies England 3 0 2 1
1967/8 - West Indies West Indies 5 1 0 4
1968 - Australia England 4 1 1 2
1968/9 - Pakistan Pakistan 3 0 0 3
Total 27 8 4 15
50 Ted Dexter 1961/2 - Pakistan Pakistan 3 1 0 2
1961/2 - India India 5 0 2 3
1962 - Pakistan England 4 3 0 1
1962/3 - Australia Australia 5 1 1 3
1962/3 - New Zealand New Zealand 3 3 0 0
1963 - West Indies England 5 1 3 1
1964 - Australia England 5 0 1 4
Total 30 9 7 14
51 M. J. K. Smith 1963/4 - India India 5 0 0 5
1964/5 - South Africa South Africa 5 1 0 4
1965 - New Zealand England 3 3 0 0
1965 - South Africa England 3 0 1 2
1965/6 - Australia Australia 5 1 1 3
1965/6 - New Zealand New Zealand 3 0 0 3
1966† - West Indies England 1 0 1 0
Total 25 5 3 17
52 Brian Close 1966† - West Indies England 1 1 0 0
1967 - India England 3 3 0 0
1967 - Pakistan England 3 2 0 1
Total 7 6 0 1
53 Tom Graveney 1968† - Australia England 1 0 0 1
54 Ray Illingworth 1969 - West Indies England 3 2 0 1
1969 - New Zealand England 3 2 0 1
1970/1 - Australia Australia 6
1970/1 - New Zealand New Zealand 2 1 0 1
1971 - Pakistan England 3 1 0 2
1971 - India England 3 0 1 2
1972 - Australia England 5 2 2 1
1973 - New Zealand England 3 2 0 1
1973 - West Indies England 3 0 2 1
Total 31 12 5 14
55 Tony Lewis 1972/3 - India India 5 1 2 2
1972/3 - Pakistan Pakistan 3 0 0 3
Total 8 1 2 5
56 Mike Denness 1973/4 - West Indies West Indies 5 1 1 3
1974 - India England 3 3 0 0
1974 - Pakistan England 3 0 0 3
1974/5 - Australia Australia 5 1 3 1
1974/5 - New Zealand New Zealand 2 1 0 1
1975† - Australia England 1 0 1 0
Total 19 6 5 8
57 John Edrich 1974/5† - Australia Australia 1 0 1 0
58 Tony Greig 1975 - Australia England 3 0 0 3
1976 - West Indies England 5 0 3 2
1976/7 - India India 5 3 1 1
1976/7 - Australia Australia 1 0 1 0
Total 14 3 5 6
59 Mike Brearley 1977 - Australia England 5 3 0 2
1977/8 - Pakistan Pakistan 2 0 0 2
1978 - Pakistan England 3 2 0 1
1978 - New Zealand England 3 3 0 0
1978/9 - Australia Australia 6 5 1 0
1979 - India England 4 1 0 3
1979/80 - Australia Australia 3 0 3 0
1979/80 - India India 1 1 0 0
1981 - Australia England 4 3 0 1
Total 31 18 4 9
60 Geoffrey Boycott 1977/8† - Pakistan Pakistan 1 0 0 1
1977/8 - New Zealand New Zealand 3 1 1 1
Total 4 1 1 2
61 Ian Botham 1980 - West Indies England 5 0 1 4
1980 - Australia England 1 0 0 1
1980/1 - West Indies West Indies 4 0 2 2
1981† - Australia England 2 0 1 1
Total 12 0 4 8
62 Keith Fletcher 1981/2 - India India 6 0 1 5
1981/2 - Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 1 1 0 0
Total 7 1 1 5
63 Bob Willis 1982 - India England 3 1 0 2
1982 - Pakistan England 2 2 0 0
1982/3 - Australia Australia 5 1 2 2
1983 - New Zealand England 4 3 1 0
1983/4 - New Zealand New Zealand 3 0 1 2
1983/4† - Pakistan Pakistan 1 0 1 0
Total 18 7 5 6
64 David Gower 1982† - Pakistan England 1 0 1 0
1983/4 - Pakistan Pakistan 2 0 0 2
1984 - West Indies England 5 0 5 0
1984 - Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 1 0 0 1
1984/5 - India India 5 2 1 2
1985 - Australia England 6 3 1 2
1985/6 - West Indies West Indies 5 0 5 0
1986† - India England 1 0 1 0
1989 - Australia England 6 0 4 2
Total 32 5 18 9
65 Mike Gatting 1986 - India England 2 0 1 1
1986 - New Zealand England 3 0 1 2
1986/7 - Australia Australia 5 2 1 2
1987 - Pakistan England 5 0 1 4
1987/8 - Pakistan Pakistan 3 0 1 2
1987/8 - Australia Australia 1 0 0 1
1987/8 - New Zealand New Zealand 3 0 0 3
1988† - West Indies England 1 0 0 1
Total 23 2 5 16
66 John Emburey 1988 - West Indies England 2 0 2 0
67 Chris Cowdrey 1988† - West Indies England 1 0 1 0
68 Graham Gooch 1988† - West Indies England 1 0 1 0
1988 - Sri Lanka England 1 1 0 0
1989/90 - West Indies West Indies 2 1 0 1
1990 - New Zealand England 3 1 0 2
1990 - India England 3 1 0 2
1990/1 - Australia Australia 4 0 2 2
1991 - West Indies England 5 2 2 1
1991 - Sri Lanka England 1 1 0 0
1991/2 - New Zealand New Zealand 3 2 0 1
1992 - Pakistan England 5 1 2 2
1992/3 - India India 2 0 2 0
1993 - Australia England 4 0 3 1
Total 34 10 12 12
69 Allan Lamb 1989/90† - West Indies West Indies 2 0 2 0
1990/1† - Australia Australia 1 0 1 0
Total 3 0 3 0
70 Alec Stewart 1992/3† - India India 1 0 1 0
1992/3 - Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 1 0 1 0
1998 - South Africa England 5 2 1 2
1998 - Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 1 0 1 0
1998/9 - Australia Australia 5 1 3 1
2000† - West Indies England 1 1 0 0
2001† - Pakistan England 1 0 1 0
Total 15 4 8 3
71 Michael Atherton 1993† Report Australia England 2 1 1 0
1993/4 Report West Indies West Indies 5 1 3 1
1994 Report New Zealand England 3 1 0 2
1994 Report South Africa England 3 1 1 1
1994/5 Report Australia Australia 5 1 3 1
1995 Report West Indies England 6 2 2 2
1995/6 Report South Africa South Africa 5 0 1 4
1996 Report India England 3 1 0 2
1996 Report Pakistan England 3 0 2 1
1996/7 Report Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 2 0 0 2
1996/7 Report New Zealand New Zealand 3 2 0 1
1997 Report Australia England 6 2 3 1
1997/8 Report West Indies West Indies 6 1 3 2
2001† Report Australia England 2 0 2 0
Total 54 13 21 20
72 Nasser Hussain 1999 - New Zealand England 3 1 2 0
1999/2000 - South Africa South Africa 5 1 2 2
2000 - Zimbabwe England 2 1 0 1
2000 - West Indies England 4 2 1 1
2000/1 - Pakistan Pakistan 3 1 0 2
2000/1 - Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 2 1 0
2001 - Pakistan England 1 1 0 0
2001 - Australia England 3 1 2 0
2001/2 - India India 3 0 1 2
2001/2 - New Zealand New Zealand 3 1 1 1
2002 - Sri Lanka England 3 2 0 1
2002 - India England 4 1 1 2
2002/3 Report Australia Australia 5 1 4 0
2003 - Zimbabwe England 2 2 0 0
2003 - South Africa England 1 0 0 1
Total 45 17 15 13
73 Mark Butcher 1999† - New Zealand England 1 0 1 0
74 Michael Vaughan 2003 Report South Africa England 4 2 2 0
2003/4 Report Bangladesh Bangladesh 2 2 0 0
2003/4 Report Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 0 1 2
2003/4 Report West Indies West Indies 4 3 0 1
2004 Report New Zealand England 2 2 0 0
2004 Report West Indies England 4 4 0 0
2004/5 Report South Africa South Africa 5 2 1 2
2005 Report Bangladesh England 2 2 0 0
2005 Report Australia England 5 2 1 2
2005/6 Report Pakistan Pakistan 2 0 1 1
2007 Report West Indies England 3 3 0 0
2007 Report India England 3 0 1 2
2007 Report Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 0 1 2
2008 Report New Zealand New Zealand 3 2 1 0
2008 Report New Zealand England 3 2 0 1
2008 Report South Africa England 3 0 2 1
Total 51 26 11 14
75 Marcus Trescothick 2004† Report New Zealand England 1 1 0 0
2005/6† Report Pakistan Pakistan 1 0 1 0
Total 2 1 1 0
76 Andrew Flintoff 2006 Report India India 3 1 1 1
2006 Report Sri Lanka England 3 1 1 1
2006/7 Report Australia Australia 5 0 5 0
Total 11 2 7 2
77 Andrew Strauss 2006 Report Pakistan England 4 3 0 1
2007† Report West Indies England 1 0 0 1
2008/9 Report West Indies West Indies 5 0 1 4
2009 Report West Indies England 2 2 0 0
2009 Report Australia England 5 2 1 2
2009/10 Report South Africa South Africa 4 1 1 2
Total 21 8 3 10
78 Kevin Pietersen 2008 Report South Africa England 1 1 0 0
2008/9 Report India India 2 0 1 1
Total 3 1 1 1
79 Alastair Cook 2009–10 Report Bangladesh Bangladesh 2 2 0 0
2012–13 Report India India 4 2 1 1
2012–13 Report New Zealand New Zealand 3 0 0 3
2013 Report New Zealand England 2 2 0 0
2013 Report Australia England 5 3 0 2
2013–14 Report Australia Australia 5 0 5 0
2014 Report Sri Lanka England 2 0 1 1
2014 Report India England 5 3 1 1
2014–15 Report West Indies West Indies 3 1 1 1
2015 Report New Zealand England 2 1 1 0
2015 Report Australia England 5 3 2 0
2015–16 Report Pakistan UAE 3 0 2 1
2015–16 Report South Africa South Africa 4 2 1 1
2016 Report Sri Lanka England 3 2 0 1
2016 Report Pakistan England 4 2 2 0
2016–17 Report Bangladesh Bangladesh 2 1 1 0
2016–17 Report India India 5 0 4 1
Total 59 24 22 13
80 Joe Root 2017 Report South Africa England 4 3 1 0
2017 Report West Indies England 3 2 1 0
2017–18 Report Australia Australia 5 0 4 1
2017–18 Report New Zealand New Zealand 2 0 1 1
2018 Report Pakistan England 2 1 1 0
2018 Report India England 5 4 1 0
2018–19 Report Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 3 3 0 0
2018–19 Report West Indies West Indies 3 1 2 0
2019 Report Australia England 3 1 1 1
Total 30 15 12 3
Grand Total 1013 366 301 346
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