The England Lions (formerly England A) cricket team is England and Wales' "second-tier" team, below the full England cricket team. It is largely intended as a way for promising young cricketers to gain experience in international cricket.

England B and England A Although primarily intended as a touring team, for several years in the 1990s they played one match in England at the start of each season: between 1992 and 1995 against the previous season's county champion and in 1996 and 1997 against a Rest of England team. England A also played two List A games against the full Sri Lankan touring side in England in 1991.

Previously a second tier team known as "England B" played one game against the Pakistanis in 1982 and had made a full tour of Sri Lanka in 1985/86. The first full tour by a team named "England A" was to Zimbabwe in 1989/90, and consisted of three first-class matches and three 50-over games. On this occasion England A played against the full Zimbabwe side, but on subsequent tours their most important opponents have usually been the equivalent A teams of the countries they have been touring. However, England A has toured Australia but had played a match against their Australian A team counterparts until 2021.

They also often play matches against state or provincial sides, and in 2000/01 England A participated in the Busta Cup, the West Indian domestic first-class competition, finishing in third place out of the eight teams taking part. In 2003/04 England A took part in India's Duleep Trophy competition, but failed to progress beyond the group stages after losing both their matches. There were no England A matches played in the period between these two tours.

England Lions The newly rebranded England Lions was then integrated with the ECB National Academy, with touring parties taken from the Academy squad. On 15 June 2007, it was announced by the ECB (English & Welsh Cricket Board) the inaugural Lions side would play a one-day touring warm-up match against the West Indies at Worcester."Solanki to lead England 'Lions'", 2007-06-15, BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. Later in the summer against the touring Indians the Lions drew a 3-day match at Chelmsford and had a one-day match abandoned due to rain at Northampton."Deluge denies Lions ", England and Wales Cricket Board.

On 4 January 2008 the squad for the England Lions tour of India was named, with Sussex batsman Michael Yardy named as captain. The team competed in the 2008 Duleep Trophy domestic first-class competition in addition to friendly matches."Yardy leads Lions in India ", 2008-01-04, England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.

On 7th September 2024, Andrew Flintoff was named England Lions head coach.

Current squad The following players were named in the squads for the 2026 series against South Africa A.

The captain of the side typically varies from series to series. The current captains are Jordan Cox (first-class) Dan Mousley (limited overs).

Name Age Batting style Bowling style County S/NBatsmen Charlie Allison Right-handed Right-arm medium Essex 5 Jordan Cox Right-handed Right-arm off-spin Essex 93 Ben Geddes Right-handed Right-arm medium Surrey 72 Ben McKinney Left-handed Right-arm off-spin Durham 40 Asa Tribe Right-handed Right-arm off-spin Glamorgan 46 James Wharton Right-handed Right-arm off-spin Yorkshire Wicket-keepers Ben Dawkins Right-handed — Kent Ben Mayes Right-handed Right-arm medium Hampshire 71 James Rew Left-handed — Somerset 89 Thomas Rew Right-handed — Somerset 31All-rounders Rehan Ahmed Right-handed Leg break Leicestershire 53 James Coles Right-handed Left-arm orthodox Sussex 84 Scott Currie Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Hampshire Caleb Falconer Right-handed Right-arm medium Middlesex 27 Tom Lawes (cricketer) Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Surrey 94 Dan Mousley Left-handed Right-arm off-spin Warwickshire 96 Liam Patterson-White Left-handed Left-arm orthodox Nottinghamshire 70 James Sales Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Northamptonshire Pace bowlers Noah Cornwell Left-handed Left-arm medium-fast Middlesex 62 Henry Crocombe Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Sussex 54 Eddie Jack Left-handed Right-arm medium-fast Hampshire Saqib Mahmood Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Lancashire 25 Alfie Ogborne Right-handed Left-arm medium-fast Somerset 91 Matthew Potts Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Durham 35 Naavya Sharma Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Middlesex Ekansh Singh Right-handed Right-arm medium Kent 69 Mitchell Stanley Right-handed Right-arm fast Lancashire 73Spin bowlers Mason Crane Right-handed Leg break Glamorgan 4

= has played senior international cricket for England.

Results summary

Season-by-season Season Country First-class v. A team Other first-class List A v. A team Other List A Twenty20 v. A team Other Twenty20 / / / / England B (1982–1985/86) 1982 Pakistan———010———————————— 1985/86 Sri Lanka———070———230—————— England A (1989/90–2006/07) 1989/90 ZimbabweEngland A played their three first-class matches against the full Zimbabwean side rather than the A team.———120———300——————1990/91 PakistanThe tour was called off after two matches because of the start of the Gulf War.—— — 0 1 0 — — — 1 0 0 —————— Sri Lanka030100140————————— 1991 England—————————110—————— 1991/92 West Indies012020———100—————— 1992 England———010———————————— 1992/93 Australia———022———010—————— 1993 England———001———————————— 1993/94 South Africa010421———————————— 1994 England———010———————————— 1994/95 India300110210————————— 1995 England———100———————————— 1995/96 Pakistan120210210200—————— 1996 England———100———————————— 1996/97 Australia———210———201—————— 1997 England———010————————————1997/98 KenyaAll four matches were played against the full Kenyan side.———100———101One further match was abandoned without a ball being bowled.—————— Sri Lanka210110030001——————1998/99 Zimbabwe110001300201—————— South Africa———200————————————1999/2000 BangladeshAll three matches were played against the full Bangladeshi side.———020———100—————— New Zealand110210201200—————— 2000/01 West Indies———341———————————— 2003/04 India———102030010—————— 2004/05 Sri LankaEngland took part in a triangular one-day tournament also involving Pakistan A. There were two games against Sri Lanka A (W1 L1) and two against Pakistan A (L2)101———130100—————— 2005/06 West Indies011———230————————— 2006/07 Bangladesh110———210————————— England Lions (2007–present) 2007 West Indies —————————01Match played against the full West Indian side.0—————— India———010———010—————— 2007/08 IndiaEngland Lions played as a guest team in the Duleep Trophy, an Indian domestic competition.———101———————————— 2008 New Zealand———010———————————— South Africa—————————110—————— 2008/09 New Zealand020———020———010——— 2009 West Indies———100———————————— Australia———010———————————— 2009/10 PakistanMatches played in the United Arab Emirates.——————120———210——— England————————————100——— 2010 Bangladesh———100———————————— West IndiesEngland Lions played in a triangular series against West Indies A and India A.——————200————————— India——————201————————— 2010/11 West IndiesEngland Lions played in the Regional Four Day Competition, a domestic competition in the West Indies.———250———————————— 2011 Sri Lanka010001210————————— 2011/12 Bangladesh——————230———110——— Sri Lanka——————320————————— 2012 West Indies———100———————————— Australia020——————————————— 2012–13 Australia——————041Match abandoned with no toss having taken place.020—————— 2013 New Zealand———010———————————— Bangladesh——————210————————— 2013/14 Sri Lanka120020———————————— 2014 Sri LankaEngland Lions played in a triangular series against Sri Lanka A and New Zealand A.——————200————————— New Zealand——————020————————— 2014/15 South Africa020010311————————— 2015/16 PakistanEngland Lions toured the United Arab Emirates, playing five List-A and five Twenty20 matches against Pakistan A and one unofficial Twenty20 and two 50-over games against the UAE national side.——————230———320100 2016 Sri LankaEngland Lions played in a triangular series against Sri Lanka A and Pakistan A.——————200————————— Pakistan——————200————————— 2018 West IndiesEngland Lions played in a triangular series against India A and Indies A.——————200————————— India——————120————————— 2018–19 Pakistan———————————— 2025–26 Pakistan——————104300———

Head-to-head Team First-class List A Twenty20 / / Australians 0 1 0 — — — — — — Australia A 0 2 0 0 4 1 — — — Bangladesh 0 2 0 1 0 0 — — — Bangladesh A 1 1 0 6 5 0 1 1 0 Bangladeshis 1 0 0 — — — — — — Barbados 0 2 0 1 0 0 — — — Border 0 1 0 — — — — — — Central Districts 1 0 0 — — — — — — Central Zone 1 0 0 — — — — — — Combined XI 1 0 0 — — — — — — Combined Campuses & Colleges 0 1 0 — — — — — — Eastern Province 1 0 0 — — — — — — East Zone 0 0 1 — — — — — — England — — — — — — 1 0 0 Essex 0 1 1 — — — — — — Gauteng XI 1 1 0 — — — — — — Guyana 0 2 1 — — — — — — India A 3 0 0 4 4 1 — — — Indian Board President's XI 0 1 0 — — — — — — Indians 0 1 0 0 0 1 — — — Indian Youth XI 1 0 0 — — — — — — Jamaica 1 1 0 — — — — — — Karachi — — — 0 1 0 — — — Karnataka — — — 0 1 0 — — — Kenya 0 1 0 1 0 2 — — — Leeward Islands 1 1 0 — — — — — — Mashonaland — — — 1 0 1 — — — Middlesex 0 1 0 — — — — — — Natal 0 0 1 — — — — — — New South Wales 0 0 1 1 0 1 — — — New Zealand A 1 3 0 2 4 1 0 1 0 New Zealand Academy — — — 2 0 0 — — — New Zealanders 0 2 0 — — — — — — Northern Transvaal 1 0 0 — — — — — — North Island 0 1 0 — — — — — — Orange Free State 0 1 0 — — — — — — Pakistan A 1 2 0 3 5 0 5 3 0 Pakistan Cricket Board XI 1 0 0 2 0 0 — — — Pakistan Cricket Board Patron's XI 0 1 0 — — — — — — Pakistanis 0 2 0 — — — — — — Pakistan UGC 0 1 0 — — — — — — Queensland 0 2 0 — — — — — — The Rest 1 1 0 — — — — — — South Africa A 0 3 0 3 1 1 — — — South African Board President's XI 1 0 0 — — — — — — South Africans — — — 1 1 0 — — — South Australia 1 0 1 1 0 0 — — — Southern Districts XI 1 0 0 — — — — — — South Island 1 0 0 — — — — — — South Zone 0 0 1 — — — — — — Sri Lanka 0 5 0 2 3 0 — — — Sri Lanka A 4 7 1 9 11 0 — — — Sri Lanka Board President's XI 1 1 0 0 1 0 — — — Sri Lanka Colts XI 0 2 0 — — — — — — Sri Lanka Cricket Combined XI — — — 1 0 0 — — — Sri Lanka Emerging Players 0 2 0 — — — — — — Sri Lankans 1 0 1 1 1 0 — — — Tamil Nadu 1 0 0 — — — — — — Tasmania 0 1 0 0 1 0 — — — Transvaal 1 0 0 — — — — — — Trinidad and Tobago 0 3 0 — — — — — — United Arab Emirates — — — — — — 1 0 0 Victoria 1 0 0 0 2 0 — — — Warwickshire 1 0 0 — — — — — — Western Province 1 0 0 — — — — — — West Indians 2 0 0 0 1 0 — — — West Indies A 0 2 3 4 3 0 — — — West Indies B 1 0 0 — — — — — — West Zone 0 0 1 — — — — — — Windward Islands 2 1 0 — — — — — — Zimbabwe 1 2 0 3 0 0 — — — Zimbabwe A 1 1 0 3 0 0 — — — Zimbabwe Country Districts — — — 1 0 0 — — — Zimbabwe Cricket Academy — — — 0 0 1 — — — Zimbabwe CU President's XI 0 1 0 — — — — — —

Up to date as of 16 December 2015.

See also National Cricket Performance Centre

Notes

External links Official Website