Test cricket is the oldest form of cricket played at international level. A Test match is scheduled to take place over a period of five days, and is played by teams representing full member nations of the International Cricket Council (ICC). England was a founding member of the ICC, having played the first Test match against Australia in March 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. , they have played more Test matches than any other team, and of their 1100 games, have won 408, drawn 356 and lost 336. With 37.1 percent of matches won, England are the third most successful team in the history of Test cricket, behind Australia on 48.4 per cent and South Africa on 39.9 per cent.
Captain and middle-order batsman Joe Root holds several England Test cricket records. Making his Test debut in 2012, he has scored 14,278 runs – making him the second England player to score 10,000 Test runs and second overall in the list of top-scorers in Tests. He has made a record 69 half-centuries and 41 centuries, and was one half of the highest England Test partnership of 454. As a slip fielder, he holds the overall Test record for the most catches taken, with 220. Captaining his side from 2016 until 2022, and again from 2026, Root holds the record for the most matches played as English captain with 68.
The most successful Test wicket-taker for England is James Anderson, who made his Test debut in 2003 and retired in 2024. He played in a total of 188 Test matches and took 704 wickets, both records for England. He has also picked up five wickets in an innings on 32 occasions, which is the most for the national side. 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. Alan Knott is England's most successful wicket-keeper, having taken 269 dismissals. 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.
Key The top five records are listed for each category, except for the team wins, losses and draws and the partnership records. Tied records for fifth place are also included. Explanations of the general symbols and cricketing terms used in the list are given below. Specific details are provided in each category where appropriate. All records include matches played for England only, and are correct . + Key Symbol Meaning Player or umpire is currently active in Test cricket * Player remained not out or partnership remained unbroken ♠ Test cricket record d Innings was declared (e.g. 903/7d) Date Starting date of the Test match Innings Number of innings played Matches Number of matches played Opposition The team England was playing against Period The time period when the player was active in Test cricket Player The player involved in the record Venue Test cricket ground where the match was played
Team records Team wins, losses and draws , England have played 1,100 Test matches, more than any other team, resulting in 408 victories, 356 draws and 336 defeats for an overall winning percentage of 37.1, the third highest winning percentage of Test playing teams. England is undefeated against Zimbabwe and Ireland, and has defeated Bangladesh on all but one occasion. England played the debut Test matches of Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies – winning all of them except against Australia. Opposition First Test Matches Won Lost Drawn Tied % Won 366 113 156 97 0 30.9 10 9 1 0 0 90.0 141 53 37 51 0 37.6 2 2 0 0 0 100.0 118 55 16 47 0 46.6 95 33 23 39 0 34.7 156 66 35 55 0 42.3 39 19 9 11 0 48.7 166 54 59 53 0 32.5 7 4 0 3 0 57.1 Total 1100 408 336 356 0 37.1 Last updated: 12 September 2026
Team scoring records Most runs in an innings The highest innings total scored in Test cricket came in the series between Sri Lanka and India in August 1997. Playing in the first Test at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the hosts posted a first innings total of 952/6d. This broke the longstanding record of 903/7d which England set against Australia in the final Test of the 1938 Ashes series at The Oval. This in turn broke England's 849 all out against the West Indies in 1930. Rank Score Opposition Venue Date 1 The Oval, London, England 2 Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica 3 Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan, Pakistan 4 Edgbaston, Birmingham, England 5 Old Trafford, Manchester, England Last updated: 26 July 2025
Highest successful run chases The highest successful run chase came in the West Indies victory over Australia in May 2003 at the Antigua Recreation Ground. Set 418 for victory in the final innings, the hosts achieved the target for the loss of seven wickets. 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). England reached the target of 378 runs with seven wickets in hand, having successfully chased a target of over 300 runs in Test matches on only four previous occasions.
Rank Score Target Opposition Venue Date 1 378 Edgbaston, Birmingham, England 2 371 Headingley, Leeds, England 3 359 Headingley, Leeds, England 4 332 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia 5 315 Headingley, Leeds, England Last updated: 24 June 2025
Fewest runs in an innings The lowest innings total scored in Test cricket came in the second Test of England's tour of New Zealand in March 1955. Trailing England by 46, New Zealand were bowled out in their second innings for 26 runs. The equal twelfth-lowest score in Test history is England's total of 45 scored in their first innings against Australia in the first Test of the 1886–87 Ashes series.
Rank Score Opposition Venue Date 1 45 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia 2 46 Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 3 51 Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica 4 52 The Oval, London, England 5 53 Lord's, London, England Last updated: 30 July 2018
Result records
A Test match is won when one side has scored more runs than the total runs scored by the opposing side during their two innings. If both sides have completed both their allocated innings and the side that fielded last has the higher aggregate of runs, it is known as a win by runs. This indicates the number of runs that they had scored more than the opposing side. If one side scores more runs in a single innings than the total runs scored by the other side in both their innings, it is known as a win by an innings and runs. If the side batting last wins the match, it is known as a win by wickets, indicating the number of wickets that were still to fall.
Greatest win margins (by innings) The fifth Test of the 1938 Ashes series at The Oval saw England win by an innings and 579 runs, the largest victory by an innings in Test cricket history. 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. Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 Innings and 579 runs ♠ The Oval, London, England 2 Innings and 285 runs Lord's, London, England 3 Innings and 283 runs Headingley, Leeds, England 4 Innings and 261 runs Lord's, London, England 5 Innings and 244 runs The Oval, London, England Last updated: 30 July 2018
Greatest win margins (by runs) The greatest winning margin by runs in Test cricket was England's victory over Australia by 675 runs in the first Test of the 1928–29 Ashes series. 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. Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 675 runs ♠ Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane, Australia 2 354 runs Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England 3 347 runs Lord's, London, England 4 338 runs Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia 5 330 runs Old Trafford, Manchester, England Last updated: 30 July 2018
Greatest win margins (by 10 wickets) England have won a Test match by a margin of 10 wickets on 22 occasions, the third highest behind Australia on 30 and the West Indies on 28.
Rank Victories Opposition Most recent venue Date 1 6 Lord's, London, England 2 5 Edgbaston, Birmingham, England 3 4 Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India 4 3 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia 5 2 Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England 6 1 Old Trafford, Manchester, England Lord's, London, England Last updated: 28 July 2024
Narrowest win margins (by runs)
England's narrowest win by runs was against Australia in the second Test of the 2005 Ashes series at Edgbaston. Set 282 runs for victory in the final innings, Australia were bowled all out for 279 to give victory to the hosts by two runs. This was the second-narrowest win in Test cricket, with the narrowest being the West Indies' one-run win over Australia in 1993. Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 Edgbaston, Birmingham, England 2 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia 3 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia 4 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia Last updated: 30 July 2018
Narrowest win margins (by wickets)
England have won by a margin of one wicket on four occasions, the most recent being the third Test of the 2019 Ashes series at Headingley. This match saw the hosts achieving their highest successful run chase in Test cricket of 359 runs, one of only fifteen one-wicket victories in Test cricket.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 1 wicket The Oval, London, England Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, South Africa Headingley, Leeds, England 5 2 wickets The Oval, London, England Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban, South Africa Centurion Park, Centurion, South Africa Lord's, London, England Last updated: 1 September 2019
Greatest loss margins (by innings) England suffered their greatest defeat by an innings at The Gabba in the first Test of the 1946–47 Ashes series, the first Test match to be played in Australia after the Second World War. Going down to the hosts by an innings and 332 runs, this is the fourth-heaviest defeat in Test cricket history. Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 Innings and 332 runs The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia 2 Innings and 226 runs Lord's, London, England 3 Innings and 215 runs Singhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground, Colombo, Sri Lanka 4 Innings and 200 runs Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia 5 Innings and 180 runs Edgbaston, Birmingham, England Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England Last updated: 30 July 2018
Greatest loss margins (by runs) The first Test of the 1928–29 Ashes series saw Australia defeated by England by 675 runs, the greatest losing margin by runs in Test cricket. The results were reversed in the fifth and final Test of the 1934 Ashes series at The Oval where the tourists defeated the hosts by 562 runs, England's greatest defeat by runs.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 562 runs The Oval, London, England 2 434 runs Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot, India 3 425 runs Old Trafford, Manchester, England 4 423 runs Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand 5 409 runs Lord's, London, England Last updated: 17 December 2024
Greatest loss margins (by 10 wickets) England have lost a Test match by a margin of 10 wickets on 25 occasions, more than any other Test playing team.
Rank Defeats Opposition Most recent venue Date 1 8 Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda 2 7 The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia 3 4 The Oval, London, England 4 3 Headingley, Leeds, England 5 2 Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India 6 1 The Oval, London, England Last updated: 28 March 2022
Narrowest loss margins (by runs)