ENGLAND BOARD XI

The England Board XI is the successor to the England Amateur XI, which was formed in 1989 with the express purpose of giving non-professional cricketers the chance to represent their country. The team was re-named in 1997 when the National Cricket Association and the Test & County Cricket Board merged to become the England & Wales Cricket Board. Players are selected from each of ECB’s 38 County Boards.

NCA National Coach, Doug Ferguson was coach and Phil Garner the captain for the first three seasons, but since the retirement of both Doug and Phil in 1992, there have been several changes in personnel. Les Lenham (Sussex), Mike Hendrick (Derbyshire & England), Chris Old (Yorkshire & England) and Keith Tomlins (Middlesex) have all had spells as Head Coach. Andy Pick, the ECB National Coach and former Nottinghamshire fast-bowler, has held the position since 2000.

Nick Folland (Devon) and Malcolm Roberts (Bucks) both served valuable time as Captain and the current skipper is Steve Foster from Yorkshire. He currently plays his cricket for Hanging Heaton in the Yorkshire League. “Picky” & “Fozzie” are assisted in match preparations by Manager, Alan Wilson (Cumberland) and Assistant Coach, Phil Oliver (Warwickshire).

The programme of “friendly” matches was extended in 1993 with the introduction of the Triple Crown Tournament, of which the Amateur XI became the first holders of the trophy donated by the late Frank Elliott, the former Chairman of NCA and a member of the ECB Management Board. Ireland, Scotland and Wales now compete for the Trophy every two years.

Notable performances by the Board XI prompted the International Cricket Council to invite the side to take part in the first European Championships held in Denmark in 1998, to strengthen the competition. Teams from Denmark, Holland, Ireland, Italy and Scotland compete biennially in Pool “A” for European honors.

In recent years, the team has also hosted several Test playing nations including New Zealand, Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe & Bangladesh.

ECB/DW310502

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