Which England Players Have Played 100 Test Matches or More?

At the time of writing, Ben Stokes has recently become the 15th and Jonny Bairstow is set to become the 16th man to appear in 100 Test matches for England. There have been more than 700 men to represent England at senior Test level, so this is quite some achievement. But who are the players who reached the milestone before Stokes and Bairstow, and who has played the most Test matches for England?

England Players (Men) Who’ve Played in the Most Test Matches*

*Figures accurate as of 5th March, 2024

As you can see, only three men have played more than 150 Tests for England, and we’ll take a closer look at their Test careers below, as well as the player who might join that elite band before too long.

Jimmy Anderson – 698 Wickets in 186 Test Matches

In world cricket, there’s only ever been one man to play more Test matches than Jimmy Anderson: Indian sporting icon, Sachin Tendulkar, who played in 200 Test matches over the course of his illustrious career. Anderson is only 14 Tests behind Sachin at the time of writing, and it is possible England’s leading wicket-taker might make it to the double century. But he’ll be turning 42 years of age in July 2024 and fast bowling can certainly take its toll on the body, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to carry on that long.

Irrespective of when he calls it a day, Anderson has cemented his position as one of the greats of his era or indeed any era. He’s third in the list of all-time Test wickets, with only the two greatest spinners of all time ahead of him: Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. Anderson may well catch the Aussie great before long, but we can’t see him reaching the mark of 800 set by the Sri Lankan magician Muralitharan.

Stuart Broad – 3,662 Runs and 604 Wickets in 167 Test Matches

Not a million miles behind Anderson in terms of either Test wickets or the number of matches for England is the man who so often joined him in the bowling attack to such devastating effect. Stuart Broad only retired from Test cricket at the end of the 2023 Ashes series but made sure he edged above the 600-wicket milestone first, becoming one of just five men to achieve that (along with the aforementioned three and India’s Anil Kumble).

Broad’s lanky stature gave him great physical advantages when it came to bowling, but he was also pretty handy with the bat when he needed to be. His top score of 169 came against Pakistan In 2010 and came as he put on a record-breaking eight-wicket partnership of 332 along with Jonathan Trott. That turned out to be Broad’s only Test century, though he made 13 half-centuries over the years too. But it was his bowling for which he will be best remembered, not least his exceptional Test bowling strike rate of 55.79 and his 20 five-wicket hauls in Test innings.

Alastair Cook – 12,472 Runs in 161 Test Matches

From England’s two greatest wicket-takers of all time, we go to England’s greatest run-scorer: Alastair Cook. Fifth in the all-time list of Test match run-scorers, Cook’s in good company towards the top of that particular chart. Above him sit only Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and the legend Tendulkar, a who’s who of the greatest batters in the history of the sport.

Although often seen as more of a steady and astute batter, rather than someone who was full of flare and fireworks, Cook went about his run-scoring business with skill and vigour. He was the youngest player in the world (men) to reach various milestones in Test cricket, not least 10,000, 11,000 and 12,000 runs. He was also the first opening batsman to reach 11,000 and then 12,000 runs, which is certainly no mean feat. And to top things off he was even given a knighthood in 2019.

Joe Root – 11,626 Runs in 139 Test Matches

Joe Root is only 33 years old at the time of writing, so there is a very good chance he could surpass Cook’s record as the top England Test run-scorer at some point in the coming years. He overtook Aussie great Allan Border to make it into the top 10 all-time Test run scorers and given Root is the only one in the top 10 still plying his trade, he has the potential to rise through the rankings. If he makes it to the 12,000-run milestone, which is surely something he’s targeting, he’ll have overtaken three true greats of the game: Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene, and the West Indies duo of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and the inimitable Brian Lara.

Of course, no one can be certain about how a career will pan out, and injuries could put paid to Root’s ambitions. But with 31 centuries and 60 half-centuries in Test match cricket, whatever happens from here on in, Root will go down as one of England’s greatest-ever batsmen.