England happen to be the oldest Test team, along with Australia, having taken part in 1061 matches since 1877 and as such England most wickets, runs and centuries constitute a large data sample. In fact, England is the only team that has played over 1000 Test matches. Even as they have won 389 matches, they ended up on the losing side 318 times. 354 of the games ended in draws. The Three Lions have played 356 Tests against Australia in which they won 110 and lost 150
England are second in the list of most wins in the history of Test cricket. Australia, who won the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23, have 406 wins to their name from 854 matches. England are next set to face the Aussies in the Ashes 2023, which is scheduled to get underway on Friday, June 16. The opening Test of the series will take place at the Edgbaston in Birmingham.
The Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, Headingley in Leeds, Kennington Oval in London, and Old Trafford in Manchester are the other four venues for Ashes 2023.
England most runs
Alastair Cook heads the list of England most runs, having played international cricket for 12 years. Back in 2018, the left-handed batter called it a day from international cricket after playing against India at the KIA Oval. Cook has scored 12472 runs from 161 matches at an average of 45.35 with 33 hundreds and 57 half-centuries to show for his efforts.
Former Test skipper Joe Root is not far away from Cook in the list of England most runs. Root has 11004 Test runs to his name from 130 matches at an average of 50.24 with 29 hundreds and 58 fifties to his name. Although he has scored 12 ducks, Root has made up for the same with some sparkling knocks at the international level. Root was also the leading run-scorer in the WTC 2021-23 cycle.
The legendary Graham Gooch is third in the list of England most runs. The veteran scored 8900 runs from 118 Tests at an average of 42.58 with 20 hundreds and 46 fifties to his name. Gooch played 20 years at the highest level from 1975 to 1995.
Alex Stewart is fourth in the list of England most runs in Test cricket. Stewart, one of the most stylish batters in English cricket, played 133 Tests in his career and racked up 8463 runs at an average of 39.54 with 15 hundreds and 45 half-centuries to his name.
David Gower, who became a renowned commentator after retiring from the game, scored 8231 runs from 117 matches at an average of 44.25 with 18 hundreds and 39 half-centuries to his name.
Kevin Pietersen and Geoffrey Boycott are the other two batters with over 8000 Test runs. Michael Atherton, Wally Hammond, Ian Bell, and Graham Thorpe were also prolific run-scorers for England at the highest level.
England most wickets
James Anderson is arguably the standout bowler for England in Test cricket. The 40-year-old is the leader in the list of England most wickets. Anderson is set to take part in the Ashes and will turn 41 by the end of the five-match series. However, he has shown no signs of stopping. Anderson has picked up 685 wickets from 179 matches with 32 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls to his name.
Anderson also has over 1000 wickets and has set new benchmarks for consistency and longevity. The veteran also has a chance to go past the legendary Shane Warne if he picks up 24 wickets in the Ashes. Anderson is the leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers in the history of Test cricket. He is also 15 wickets short of becoming only the third after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia’s Warne to pick up over 700 wickets in the purest format of the game.
READ: Eng vs Aus head-to-head record
Stuart Broad is second in the list of England most wickets. Broad has picked up 582 wickets from 162 Tests with 20 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls. The speedster is among the all-time leading wicket-takers, having already played 16 years. He needs 18 wickets to complete 600 wickets in Test cricket. The pair of Anderson and Broad has given opponents headaches for many years.
One of the greatest all-rounders, Ian Botham, is third in the list. Botham picked up 383 wickets in his career from 102 matches at an economy rate of 2.99 with 27 five-wicket hauls and four four-wicket hauls.
Among spinners, Derek Underwood heads the list of England most wickets. The left-arm spinner has picked up 297 wickets from 86 matches with 17 five-wicket hauls and six 10-wicket hauls to show for his efforts. Graeme Swann, who is a current commentator, accounted for 255 scalps from 60 matches with 17 five-wicket hauls.
Red ball in hand.
Ready for tomorrow.📍 Edgbaston, Birmingham #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/Yu9lVgPF31
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 15, 2023
READ: Where to watch the 2023 Ashes live?
England most centuries
Alastair Cook heads the list of England most centuries in Test cricket. The southpaw started his career with a hundred against India back in 2006 and finished with career with a century against the same opponent. He faced a dip in the latter part of his career, but that was not enough to undermine his contributions to English cricket. After retiring from international cricket, Cook plays for Essex in the County Championship.
Root, who is England’s second-highest run-scorer, is second in the list of England most centuries. Given the form he is in, it would not be a surprise if Root goes past Cook by the end of 2023. Root has 29 hundreds to his name and is considered one of the best Test batters of the current generation. Root is also the all-time leading run-scorer in the WTC.
Third in the list of England most centuries is Kevin Pietersen, who was known for his stylish and attacking brand of cricket. Pietersen played for England from 2005 to 2014 and scored runs at a brisk rate. He finished his career with 23 hundreds for the British team.
Ian Bell, Geoffrey Boycott, Colin Cowdrey and Wally Hammond finished their careers with 22 hundreds apiece. Andrew Strauss, Ken Berrington and Graham Gooch had 21, 20 and 20 hundreds respectively in their illustrious careers.
