Test cricket is the oldest form of cricket played at international level.[1] A Test match is scheduled to take place over a period of five days,[a][b] and is played by teams representing full member nations of the International Cricket Council (ICC).[5][6] England was a founding member of the ICC, having played the first Test match against Australia in March 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[7] As of June 2024[update], they have played more Test matches than any other team, and of their 1071 games, have won 392, drawn 355 and lost 324.[8] With 36.6 per cent of matches won, this makes England the third most successful team in the history of Test cricket, behind Australia on 47.8 per cent and South Africa on 38.36 per cent.[8][c]
Opening batsman and former captain Alastair Cook holds several England Test cricket records. Playing between 2006 and 2018, he scored 12,472 runs, making him the first England player to score 10,000 Test runs.[9] He scored a record 57 half-centuries and 33 centuries.[10][11] As a slip fielder, Cook has also taken the most catches for England with 175[12] and holds the England record for the most catches taken in a Test series with 13.[13] Cook also holds the Test record for the most consecutive matches played with 159.[14]
The most successful Test wicket-taker for England is James Anderson,[15] who made his Test debut in 2003 and is currently still active. As of June 2024[update], he has played in a total of 187 Test matches and taken a record 700 wickets for a fast bowler at Test level,[16] both records for England.[17] He has also picked up five wickets in an innings on 32 occasions, which is the most for the national side.[18] The corresponding record for taking ten wickets in a match is held by Sydney Barnes, who achieved this feat seven times. He also holds the Test record for the most wickets taken in a series, having removed members of the opposing side 49 times during the England tour of South Africa in 1913–14.[19][20] Alan Knott is England's most successful wicket-keeper, having taken 269 dismissals.[21] England claims two age records: James Southerton as the oldest player to make his Test debut, at 49, and Wilfred Rhodes, aged 52, as the oldest cricketer to ever play in a Test match.[22][23]
- ^ Nicholson, Matthew (2007). Sport and the Media: Managing the Nexus. Elsevier. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-7506-8109-4. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020.
- ^ Nicholas, Mark (15 March 2017). "Where are we 140 years later?". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ Williamson, Martin (22 August 2015). "The Oval grind of 1938". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ Gollapudi, Nagraj; Samiuddin, Osman (14 October 2017). "South Africa to play Zimbabwe in inaugural four-day Test". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ Williamson, Martin (18 May 2007). "International Cricket Council: A brief history ..." ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ "ICC Classification of Official Cricket" (PDF). International Cricket Council. June 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
- ^ Williamson, Martin (23 January 1998). "The birth of Test cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ a b c "Overall results summary for Test matches". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
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