England cricket team

The England cricket team is the team that represents England and Wales (and until 1992 also Scotland) in international cricket. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) from 1903 until the end of 1996.

England and Australia were the first teams to play a Test match (between 15–19 March 1877), and these two countries together with South Africa formed the Imperial Cricket Conference (predecessor to today's International Cricket Council) on 15 June 1909. England and Australia also played the first One Day International (ODI) on 5 January 1971. England's first Twenty20 International (T20I) was played on 13 June 2005, once more against Australia.

As of 26 January 2016, England has played 969 Test matches, winning 346 and losing 282 (with 341 draws). The team has won The Ashes on 32 occasions, the same number as their opponents Australia. The team has played 661 ODIs, winning 319, and its record in ODI tournaments includes finishing as runners-up in three Cricket World Cups (1979, 1987 and 1992), and two ICC Champions Trophies (2004 and 2013). The team has played 78 T20Is, winning 38, and won the ICC World Twenty20 in 2010.

England

England ⁱ/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. The Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers much of the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight.

The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law – the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world – developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation.