ENEngland

Country history

England played the first Test match in history, losing to Australia at the MCG in March 1877, and the two sides' rivalry crystallised five years later when England's 1882 home defeat at The Oval prompted a mock obituary for English cricket in The Sporting Times, giving birth to The Ashes. England enjoyed early dominance, winning the urn repeatedly through the 1880s and 1890s, though the 20th century brought turbulent chapters, most notoriously the 'Bodyline' tour of 1932-33, when England's leg-theory bowling tactics against Bradman's Australia provoked a diplomatic incident. A near-unbeaten run of 27 Tests from 1968 to 1971 under Ray Illingworth marked one peak, while the 1990s brought a nadir, with England briefly ranked the world's worst Test side in 1999.

England reached three ODI World Cup finals (1979, 1987, 1992) without winning before finally claiming the trophy on home soil in 2019, beating New Zealand in a tied final decided by a Super Over and a boundary count -- one of the most dramatic matches in the sport's history. England also won the T20 World Cup in 2010 and again in 2022, becoming the first side to hold both white-ball world titles simultaneously. Since 2022, captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have pursued an ultra-aggressive Test approach nicknamed 'Bazball', reviving England's Test fortunes and public interest in the format.

The team's shirt bears a crest of three lions, echoing English sporting iconography broadly, though this is a design motif rather than the squad's primary popular nickname. The Ashes against Australia endures as cricket's most historic rivalry.

Sources

• Wikipedia
• ESPNcricinfo

ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Winners won (1)

• 2019

Runner-up finishes (3)

• 1979
• 1987
• 1992

See the full icc men's cricket world cup winners list for the winner each of these years.