The England cricket team is blessed with some amazing talent and players with leadership qualities. It is the only team to hold two World Cups at the same time. The ODI WC in 2019 and the T20 WC in the previous year. The current defending champions are looking for their third consecutive title. The nation which started the sport had to work hard for their WC fortunes. English captains have always been inspiring and led the team with example. The nation has had ten T20I captains since the introduction of the shortest format. In this article, we will tell you about the top 10 captains with most runs for England in the T20Is.
1. Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan was a former middle-order batter for England who was known for his tremendous run scoring abilities. He used to score runs at a very fast pace. The southpaw made his T20I debut in 2009 against Netherlands at the Lord’s. He was the most experienced skipper for England with 72 matches as captain in the T20Is. His captaincy period started from 2012 and continued till 2022. In these ten years, he scored 1469 runs. He announced retirement from all forms of the game in 2022. He also holds the record for most ODI sixes (17) in an innings which came against Afghanistan in the 2019 WC.
2. Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler is a wicket-keeper and a right-handed opening batter for England in the shortest format. He is considered as the specialist of the T20 format. Born in 1990, the player made his T20I debut against India at the Old Trafford. He was the orange cap holder in the 2022 IPL season in which he smashed 863 runs in seventeen matches. He was appointed as the skipper in 2015 and used to lead the team in the absence of Morgan. After Morgan retired, Jos took up the full-time captaincy role and has led the team in 26 matches. As a captain, he has scored 797 runs in the T20I format.
3. Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood was a former right-handed batter and a handy bowler who was born in 1976. He made his T20I debut against Australia at the Rose Bowl in 2005. The all-rounder is considered one as of the top fielders in the game. He was the captain of the team from 2007 to 2011 in the shortest format of the game. He led the nation in 30 matches and scored 511 runs. His T20I strike rate was 127.02 and he announced his retirement from all forms of the game in 2017.
4. Moeen Ali
The left-handed middle-order batter and a handy off-break bowler for England was born in 1987. He made his debut against the West Indies in 2014 at the Kensington Oval. He was also the captain of the Under-19 team in 2006 which unfortunately lost the semi-finals. He first led the team in 2020 and has been a second-choice captain ever since. He is also a part of the CSK franchise in the IPL. In just 12 matches as captain, he has scored 243 runs at an impressive average of 40.40. He also possesses the ability to bowl with the new ball in the powerplay.
5. Stuart Broad
The former right-handed fast bowler was born in 1986. His T20I experience in his early days was not good as Yuvraj Singh smashed him for six consecutive 6s in the 2007 T20 WC. But he bounced back like only he could’ve. He recently retired from test cricket after England lost 3-2 against Australia in the Ashes and ended his career with 604 test wickets. He was the T20 captain for three years from 2011 to 2014 and led the team in 27 matches. The tail-ender scored 87 runs as captain in the shortest format.
6. Andrew Strauss
The top-order southpaw for England was born in 1977 in Johannesburg. Known as “Sir Andrew Strauss,” the former left-handed batter was one of the most -prolific batsman of his era. He made his T20I debut against Australia in 2005. Unfortunately for him, the shortest format was introduced close to his retirement. The player led the team in three T20Is from 2006 to 2009 and could only pile up 55 runs those matches. He announced his retirement from all forms of the game in 2012.
7. Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan is one of the most influential skippers in the test format. The right-handed batter was born in 1974 in Manchester. He was an experienced leader in the test side who beat the West Indies in their own den for the first time in three decades in 2004. His ODI numbers did not do justice to his talent. The former skipper for England was mentally tough and determined. He was given the T20 captaincy in 2005 and led the team in just two matches until 2007. As a captain, he scored 27 runs in the T20Is.
8. Alastair Cook
The test specialist opening left-handed batter was born in 1984. He was a perfect example of how an opener should play in the test match. His ability to play the new swinging ball was second to none. Regarded as one of the most prolific batters for England, the southpaw made his T20I debut against the West Indies in 2007 at the Kennington Oval. He was appointed as the skipper in the shortest format for one match in 2009 in which scored 26 runs. The batter announced his retirement in 2018.
9. Graeme Swann
The off-break bowler who made spin even more difficult to play for the batters was born in 1979. He made his T20I debut against New Zealand in 2008 and took up the captaincy in the shortest format for three matches in 2011. As a tail-ender, he did not get the chance to bat in these three matches.
10. James Tredwell
The right-arm off-break bowler made his international debut in 2000 against South Africa. His T20I debut came much later in 2008 against New Zealand. Just like Graeme Swann, he also did not get the chance to bat in the match as captain in 2013. He retired from all forms of the game in 2018.
