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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 (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, Alfred Shaw and Arthur Shrewsbury. Some amateur-led tours went abroad under Lord Harris 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. Women's internationals were played sporadically until the last quarter of the 20th 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 and Chris Cowdrey 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 third Test against Pakistan in October 2024.

English Test match captains

Number	Name	Year	Report	Opposition	Location	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn
1	James Lillywhite	1876–77	Report	Australia	Australia	2	1	1	0
2	Lord Harris	1878–79	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	1881–82	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	Hon. Ivo Bligh	1882–83	Report	Australia	Australia	4	2	2	0
6	Arthur Shrewsbury	1884–85	Report	Australia	Australia	5	3	2	0
		1886–87	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	1887–88	Report	Australia	Australia	1	1	0	0
		1891–92	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
		1891–92	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	1888–89	Report	South Africa	South Africa	1	1	0	0
11	Monty Bowden	1888–89†	Report	South Africa	South Africa	1	1	0	0
12	Andrew Stoddart	1893†	Report	Australia	England	1	0	0	1
		1894–95	Report	Australia	Australia	5	3	2	0
		1897–98	Report	Australia	Australia	2	0	2	0
		Total				8	3	4	1
13	Sir Tim O'Brien	1895–96†	Report	South Africa	South Africa	1	1	0	0
14	Lord Hawke	1895–96	Report	South Africa	South Africa	2	2	0	0
		1898–99	Report	South Africa	South Africa	2	2	0	0
		Total				4	4	0	0
15	Archie MacLaren	1897–98†	Report	Australia	Australia	3	1	2	0
		1899	Report	Australia	England	4	0	1	3
		1901–02		Australia	Australia	5	1	4	0
		1902	Report	Australia	England	5	1	2	2
		1909		Australia	England	5	1	2	2
		Total				22	4	11	7
16	Plum Warner	1903–04	Report	Australia	Australia	5	3	2	0
		1905–06		South Africa	South Africa	5	1	4	0
		Total				10	4	6	0
17	Hon. Stanley Jackson	1905		Australia	England	5	2	0	3
18	Tip Foster	1907		South Africa	England	3	1	0	2
19	Frederick Fane	1907–08†		Australia	Australia	3	1	2	0
		1909–10†		South Africa	South Africa	2	1	1	0
		Total				5	2	3	0
20	Arthur Jones	1907–08		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	1911–12		Australia	Australia	5	4	1	0
		1913–14		South Africa	South Africa	5	4	0	1
		1920–21		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	Hon. Lionel Tennyson	1921		Australia	England	3	0	1	2
25	Frank Mann	1922–23		South Africa	South Africa	5	2	1	2
26	Arthur Gilligan	1924		South Africa	England	4	3	0	1
		1924–25		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
		1928–29		Australia	Australia	4	4	0	0
		1930		Australia	England	4	1	1	2
		1930–31		South Africa	South Africa	5	0	1	4
		Total				17	9	2	6
29	Rony Stanyforth	1927–28		South Africa	South Africa	4	2	1	1
30	Greville Stevens	1927–28†		South Africa	South Africa	1	0	1	0
31	Jack White	1928–29†		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	Hon. Freddie Calthorpe	1929–30		West Indies	West Indies	4	1	1	2
34	Bob Wyatt	1930†		Australia	England	1	0	1	0
		1932–33†		New Zealand	New Zealand	1	0	0	1
		1933†		West Indies	England	1	1	0	0
		1934		Australia	England	4	1	1	2
		1934–35		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
		1932–33	Report	Australia	Australia	5	4	1	0
		1932–33		New Zealand	New Zealand	1	0	0	1
		1933		West Indies	England	2	1	0	1
		1933–34		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
		1936–37		Australia	Australia	5	2	3	0
		1947–48		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
		1938–39		South Africa	South Africa	5	1	0	4
		1939		West Indies	England	3	1	0	2
		1946		India	England	3	1	0	2
		1946–47		Australia	Australia	4	0	2	2
		1946–47		New Zealand	New Zealand	1	0	0	1
		Total				20	4	3	13
40	Norman Yardley	1946–47†		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	1947–48†		West Indies	West Indies	1	0	0	1
42	George Mann	1948–49		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
		1950–51		Australia	Australia	5	1	4	0
		1950–51		New Zealand	New Zealand	2	1	0	1
		1951		South Africa	England	5	3	1	1
		Total				15	5	6	4
44	Nigel Howard	1951–52		India	India	4	1	0	3
45	Donald Carr	1951–52†		India	India	1	0	1	0
46	Len Hutton	1952		India	England	4	3	0	1
		1953		Australia	England	5	1	0	4
		1953–54	Report	West Indies	West Indies	5	2	2	1
		1954		Pakistan	England	2	0	1	1
		1954–55		Australia	Australia	5	3	1	1
		1954–55		New Zealand	New Zealand	2	2	0	0
		Total				23	11	4	8
47	David Sheppard	1954†		Pakistan	England	2	1	0	1
48	Peter May	1955		South Africa	England	5	3	2	0
		1956		Australia	England	5	2	1	2
		1956–57		South Africa	South Africa	5	2	2	1
		1957		West Indies	England	5	3	0	2
		1958		New Zealand	England	5	4	0	1
		1958–59		Australia	Australia	5	0	4	1
		1958–59		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
		1959–60†		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
		1967–68		West Indies	West Indies	5	1	0	4
		1968		Australia	England	4	1	1	2
		1968–69		Pakistan	Pakistan	3	0	0	3
		Total				27	8	4	15
50	Ted Dexter	1961–62		Pakistan	Pakistan	3	1	0	2
		1961–62		India	India	5	0	2	3
		1962		Pakistan	England	4	3	0	1
		1962–63		Australia	Australia	5	1	1	3
		1962–63		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	1963–64		India	India	5	0	0	5
		1964–65		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
		1965–66		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
		1970–71		Australia	Australia	6	2	0	4
		1970–71		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	1972–73		India	India	5	1	2	2
		1972–73		Pakistan	Pakistan	3	0	0	3
		Total				8	1	2	5
56	Mike Denness	1973–74		West Indies	West Indies	5	1	1	3
		1974		India	England	3	3	0	0
		1974		Pakistan	England	3	0	0	3
		1974–75		Australia	Australia	5	1	3	1
		1974–75		New Zealand	New Zealand	2	1	0	1
		1975†		Australia	England	1	0	1	0
		Total				19	6	5	8
57	John Edrich	1974–75†		Australia	Australia	1	0	1	0
58	Tony Greig	1975		Australia	England	3	0	0	3
		1976		West Indies	England	5	0	3	2
		1976–77		India	India	5	3	1	1
		1976–77		Australia	Australia	1	0	1	0
		Total				14	3	5	6
59	Mike Brearley	1977		Australia	England	5	3	0	2
		1977–78		Pakistan	Pakistan	2	0	0	2
		1978		Pakistan	England	3	2	0	1
		1978		New Zealand	England	3	3	0	0
		1978–79		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	1977–78†		Pakistan	Pakistan	1	0	0	1
		1977–78		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
		1980–81		West Indies	West Indies	4	0	2	2
		1981†		Australia	England	2	0	1	1
		Total				12	0	4	8
62	Keith Fletcher	1981–82		India	India	6	0	1	5
		1981–82		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
		1982–83		Australia	Australia	5	1	2	2
		1983		New Zealand	England	4	3	1	0
		1983–84		New Zealand	New Zealand	3	0	1	2
		1983–84†		Pakistan	Pakistan	1	0	1	0
		Total				18	7	5	6
64	David Gower	1982†		Pakistan	England	1	0	1	0
		1983–84		Pakistan	Pakistan	2	0	0	2
		1984		West Indies	England	5	0	5	0
		1984		Sri Lanka	England	1	0	0	1
		1984–85		India	India	5	2	1	2
		1985		Australia	England	6	3	1	2
		1985–86		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
		1986–87		Australia	Australia	5	2	1	2
		1987		Pakistan	England	5	0	1	4
		1987–88		Pakistan	Pakistan	3	0	1	2
		1987–88		Australia	Australia	1	0	0	1
		1987–88		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
		1990–91		Australia	Australia	4	0	2	2
		1991		West Indies	England	5	2	2	1
		1991		Sri Lanka	England	1	1	0	0
		1991–92		New Zealand	New Zealand	3	2	0	1
		1992		Pakistan	England	5	1	2	2
		1992–93		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
		1990–91†		Australia	Australia	1	0	1	0
		Total				3	0	3	0
70	Alec Stewart	1992–93†		India	India	1	0	1	0
		1992–93		Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	1	0	1	0
		1998		South Africa	England	5	2	1	2
		1998		Sri Lanka	England	1	0	1	0
		1998–99		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†		Australia	England	2	1	1	0
		1993–94		West Indies	West Indies	5	1	3	1
		1994		New Zealand	England	3	1	0	2
		1994		South Africa	England	3	1	1	1
		1994–95		Australia	Australia	5	1	3	1
		1995		West Indies	England	6	2	2	2
		1995–96		South Africa	South Africa	5	0	1	4
		1996		India	England	3	1	0	2
		1996		Pakistan	England	3	0	2	1
		1996–97		Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe	2	0	0	2
		1996–97		New Zealand	New Zealand	3	2	0	1
		1997		Australia	England	6	2	3	1
		1997–98		West Indies	West Indies	6	1	3	2
		2001†		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
		2000–01		Pakistan	Pakistan	3	1	0	2
		2000–01		Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	3	2	1	0
		2001		Pakistan	England	1	1	0	0
		2001	Report	Australia	England	3	1	2	0
		2001–02		India	India	3	0	1	2
		2001–02		New Zealand	New Zealand	3	1	1	1
		2002		Sri Lanka	England	3	2	0	1
		2002		India	England	4	1	1	2
		2002–03	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	0	1
74	Michael Vaughan	2003	Report	South Africa	England	4	2	2	0
		2003–04	Report	Bangladesh	Bangladesh	2	2	0	0
		2003–04	Report	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	3	0	1	2
		2003–04	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
		2004–05	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
		2005–06	Report	Pakistan	Pakistan	2	0	1	1
		2007	Report	West Indies	England	3	3	0	0
		2007	Report	India	England	3	0	1	2
		2007–08	Report	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	3	0	1	2
		2007–08	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
		2005–06†	Report	Pakistan	Pakistan	1	0	1	0
		Total				2	1	1	0
76	Andrew Flintoff	2005–06	Report	India	India	3	1	1	1
		2006	Report	Sri Lanka	England	3	1	1	1
		2006–07	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
		2008–09	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
		2010	Report	Bangladesh	England	2	2	0	0
		2010	Report	Pakistan	England	4	3	1	0
		2010–11	Report	Australia	Australia	5	3	1	1
		2011	Report	Sri Lanka	England	3	1	0	2
		2011	Report	India	England	4	4	0	0
		2011–12	Report	Pakistan	UAE	3	0	3	0
		2011–12	Report	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	2	1	1	0
		2012	Report	West Indies	England	3	2	0	1
		2012	Report	South Africa	England	3	0	2	1
		Total				50	24	11	15
78	Kevin Pietersen	2008†	Report	South Africa	England	1	1	0	0
		2008–09	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	Ireland	England	1	1	0	0
		2019	Report	Australia	England	5	2	2	1
		2019–20	Report	New Zealand	New Zealand	2	0	1	1
		2019–20	Report	South Africa	South Africa	4	3	1	0
		2020	Report	West Indies	England	2	2	0	0
		2020	Report	Pakistan	England	3	1	0	2
		2020–21	Report	Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	2	2	0	0
		2020–21	Report	India	India	4	1	3	0
		2021	Report	New Zealand	England	2	0	1	1
		2021	Report	India	England	4	1	2	1
		2021–22	Report	Australia	Australia	5	0	4	1
		2021–22	Report	West Indies	West Indies	3	0	1	2
		Total				64	27	26	11
81	Ben Stokes	2020†	Report	West Indies	England	1	0	1	0
		2022	Report	New Zealand	England	3	3	0	0
		2022	Report	India	England	1	1	0	0
		2022	Report	South Africa	England	3	2	1	0
		2022–23	Report	Pakistan	Pakistan	3	3	0	0
		2022–23	Report	New Zealand	New Zealand	2	1	1	0
		2023	Report	Ireland	England	1	1	0	0
		2023	Report	Australia	England	5	2	2	1
		2024	Report	India	India	5	1	4	0
		2024	Report	West Indies	England	3	3	0	0
		2024-25†	Report	Pakistan	Pakistan	2	0	2	0
		Total				29	17	11	1
82	Ollie Pope	2024†	Report	Sri Lanka	England	3	2	1	0
		2024-25†	Report	Pakistan	Pakistan	1	1	0	0
		Total				4	3	1	0
Grand total						1080	398	327	355

1. Monty Bowden, aged 23 years 144 days, became England's youngest captain on 25 March 1889.
2. Plum Warner captained the touring party, but illness prevented him from appearing in any of the Tests
3. ^ George Mann was the son of Frank Mann, making them the first father and son to both captain England.
4. ^ Arthur Gilligan and Harold Gilligan were the first brothers to captain England.
5. ^ England had two overlapping Test series in the winter of 1929/30. Their first Test against New Zealand started on 10 January 1930. Their first Test against the West Indies started on 11 January 1930, making the first time England had simultaneously played two Test matches at once.
6. ^ Chris Cowdrey is the son of Colin Cowdrey, making them the second father and son to both captain England after George and Frank Mann.
7. The 1970 South Africa tour to England was called off and a Rest of the World XI was arranged to play a 5 match series to replace it. The games were originally regarded as Test matches, but were later stripped of Test status. The Rest of the World XI won the series 4–1, with Illingworth captaining England in each match.
8. The third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia in 1970–71 was abandoned without a ball being bowled and is excluded from these statistics. This is in line with the approach adopted by Wisden and most statisticians, although the match has been recognised as an official Test match by the Australian Board of Control.

One Day International captains

This is a complete list of every man who has captained England in at least one One Day International.

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.

Thirteen men (Alan Knott, Norman Gifford, Adam Hollioake, Graham Thorpe, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Stuart Broad, James Taylor, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, and Liam Livingstone) have captained the England ODI side without ever captaining the Test team.

The table of results is complete up to the third ODI against the West Indies in November 2024.

1. Includes 2019 Cricket World Cup Final, which was tied after 50 overs and the Super Over, but England won the match on boundary count

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. He is also the most successful captain in terms of win percentage, after a minimum of 10 games.

1. Both games finished with scores level, but England won the Super-over deciders

Other men's captains

England v Rest of the World, 1970

In 1970, the proposed South African 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 for at least one women's Test match. The table of results is complete to the away Test against India in December 2023. 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.