List of England Test cricket records

[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.

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.

[34] The highest successful run chase came in the West Indies victory over Australia in May 2003 at the Antigua Recreation Ground.

England's highest successful chase came in the fifth Test of the 2021 series against India at Edgbaston (held over until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

The next largest victory was Australia's win against South Africa in the first Test of the 2001–02 tour at the Wanderers Stadium, where the tourists won by an innings and 360 runs.

The next two largest victories were recorded by Australia including defeat over England in the final Test of the 1934 Ashes series by 562 runs.

[63] The first Test of the 1905–06 series against South Africa at Old Wanderers saw the home side chase down the target of 284 runs in the final innings.

[88] Australia's Don Bradman, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time, finished his Test career with an average of 99.94.

Bradman holds the Test record for the most double centuries scored with twelve, one ahead of Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara who finished his career with eleven.

England's Wally Hammond, India's Virat Kohli and Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka have all reached the mark on seven occasions.

Four cricketers hold the Test record for the most triple centuries scored with two – Don Bradman, India's Virender Sehwag and West Indians Chris Gayle and Brian Lara.

[99] Six England players have scored a single Test triple century with Harry Brook the most recent to do so in 2024, as of October 2024[update].

[103] Former West Indian fast bowler Courtney Walsh has scored the highest number of ducks in Test cricket with 43, followed by England's Stuart Broad with 39.

[14][108] Stuart Broad, with 604, is the second-highest England Test wicket-taker and fifth overall, after becoming the second fast bowler to overtake McGrath's total of 563 wickets in September 2022.

George Lohmann, one of sixteen bowlers who have taken nine wickets in a Test match innings, sits fourth on the list taking figures of 9/28 against South Africa in 1896.

Nineteenth century English medium pacer George Lohmann holds the record for the best career average in Test cricket with 10.75.

[125] Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan has taken the most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket with 67 throughout his career followed by Shane Warne achieving 37.

[18] The wicket-keeper is a specialist fielder who stands behind the stumps being guarded by the batsman on strike and is the only member of the fielding side allowed to wear gloves and leg pads.

[143] South Africa's Mark Boucher has taken the most dismissals in Test cricket as a designated wicket-keeper with 555, followed by Adam Gilchrist of Australia on 416.

[147] Four wicket-keepers have taken seven dismissals in a single innings in a Test match—Wasim Bari of Pakistan in 1979, Englishman Bob Taylor in 1980, New Zealand's Ian Smith in 1991 and most recently West Indian gloveman Ridley Jacobs against Australia in 2000.

[155][156] India's Rahul Dravid holds the record for the most catches in Test cricket by a non-wicket-keeper with 210, followed by England's Joe Root with 207.

[159] Greg Chappell and KL Rahul are joint second behind Gregory with 14 catches taken during the 1974–75 Ashes series and the 2018 India tour of England respectively.

The same series saw Alastair Cook become the highest placed England player in equal fourth with 13 catches taken alongside Bob Simpson, Brian Lara and Rahul Dravid.

[160] India's Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the most Test matches played with 200, with James Anderson in second as of August 2024[update] with 188 caps.

[174] Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow came together in the second Test of the 2015–16 series against South Africa at Newlands Cricket Ground and put together a sixth wicket partnership of 399 runs.

[175][176] The pair of Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad set the highest eighth wicket partnership of 332 runs at Lord's in August 2010 against Pakistan.

[177] Finally, the tenth wicket partnership of 198 was made by Joe Root and James Anderson in the first Test against India at Trent Bridge in July 2014.

New Zealand's Andrew Jones and Martin Crowe hold the third-highest Test partnership with 467 made in 1991 against Sri Lanka.

The currently active Dar set the record in December 2019 overtaking West Indian Steve Bucknor's mark of 128 matches.

Joe Root in 2017
Former captain Joe Root , pictured in 2017, holds several England Test cricket records.
Wally Hammond circa 1930
In 1938, Wally Hammond led England to victory over Australia by an innings and 579 runs, the greatest winning margin by an innings in Test cricket. [ 42 ] [ 43 ]
Michael Vaughan in 2006
Michael Vaughan led England to victory over Australia in the second Test of the 2005 Ashes series by a margin of two runs. [ 55 ] [ 56 ]
Archie MacLaren in 1905
Archie MacLaren led the English team that lost the fourth Test of the 1902 Ashes series by a margin of three runs and won the fifth Test by a margin of one wicket. [ 59 ] [ 60 ] This record still stands over a century later as England's narrowest win by wickets though they have subsequently lost a Test by one run. [ 58 ] [ 61 ]
Pelham Warner in 1906
Plum Warner was the captain of the English team that lost the first Test against South Africa in January 1906 by a margin of one wicket, the narrowest loss for England by wickets. [ 61 ] [ 77 ]
Len Hutton in 1938
Len Hutton has scored the highest individual Test score (364) for England. [ 81 ]
Herbert Sutcliffe in 1933
Herbert Sutcliffe has the highest completed career batting average for England with 60.73. [ 87 ]
Wally Hammond in February 1933
Wally Hammond has scored the most double centuries for England with seven and holds the England record for the most runs scored in a series with 905 runs during the 1928–29 Ashes series . [ 96 ] [ 97 ]
James Anderson in 2014
James Anderson holds the record for the most wickets taken by a fast bowler in Test cricket with 704. [ 14 ]
George Lohmann pre 1900
George Lohmann holds the record for the best Test career bowling average and strike rate, with figures of 10.75 and 34.1, respectively. [ 118 ] [ 119 ]
William Attewell in 1895
William Attewell finished his career with an economy rate of 1.31, a Test cricket record. [ 123 ]
Ian Botham in July 2013
Ian Botham is second to James Anderson for the England record for the most Test five-wicket hauls. [ 16 ]
Sydney Barnes in 1910
Sydney Barnes took 49 wickets in the 1913–14 series against South Africa, the most by any cricketer in a Test series. [ 18 ]
Matt Prior in May 2010
Matt Prior sits second behind Alan Knott for the most Test dismissals and catches taken by an England wicket-keeper. [ 19 ]
Alastair Cook in 2016
Alastair Cook , pictured in 2016, holds the record for the consecutive career matches in Test cricket with 159. [ 164 ]
James Southerton
James Southerton is the fifth oldest cricketer to play in a Test match and was the oldest to make his debut. [ 20 ] [ 21 ]
Wilfred Rhodes bowling c. 1902
Wilfred Rhodes , pictured here aged 25, is the oldest cricketer to ever in play in a Test match at the age of 52. [ 21 ]
Dickie Bird at Headingley in 2006
Dickie Bird stood as an umpire in 66 matches, a former Test record, and is now the fifth most experienced English umpire behind David Shepherd , Richard Kettleborough , Ian Gould and Richard Illingworth . [ 183 ] [ 184 ]