What are the numbers on England Test shirts and caps?
- Published
England Test cricketers have a small number embroidered onto their whites and some also have a different number on their caps. But why?
The number displayed under the Three Lions crest signifies their cap number - essentially the order in which they made their Test debut.
Tom Armitage, who played in the first Test against Australia in 1877, has the honour of being cap number one. Current Test captain Ben Stokes has cap number 658.
Sam Cook is England's most recent debutant and has cap number 719.
Ben Stokes (left) is England cap number 658 and Joe Root (right) is cap number 655
England cricketers also receive a different cap number when they make their one-day and T20 international debuts. For example, Stokes has number 221 in ODIs.
Some players also have numbers on their cap to show that they have reached a major milestone and played in either 50, 100 or 150 Test matches. Joe Root has played 158 Tests, so he has 150 embroidered under the England crest on his hat.
Players have to feature in at least 50 Tests to earn the honour, meaning current internationals Stokes, Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley are all also eligible.
Players receive their England cap upon making their England debut.
Shirt numbers and names were also introduced to Test cricket in 2019 by the ICC to help make players more easily identifiable on the field of play. Root wears number 66 on his back.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
What is Ask Me Anything?
Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.
We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.
The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.
We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting events.
Our coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio.
More questions answered...
Get in touch
Send us your questions