Bob Taylor (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Robert William Taylor (born 17 July 1941), known as Bob Taylor, is a former English
cricket
er who played as wicket-keeper
for Derbyshire
between 1961 and 1984 and for England
between 1971 and 1984. He made 57 Test, and 639 first class cricket appearances in total, taking 1,473 catches. The 2,069 victims across his entire career is the most of any wicket-keeper in history. He is considered as one of the world's most accomplished wicket-keepers. He made his first class debut for Minor Counties against South Africa in 1960, having made his Staffordshire
debut in 1958. He became Derbyshire's first choice wicket-keeper when George Dawkes
sustained a career ending injury. His final First Class appearance was at the Scarborough Festival
in 1988. He remained first choice until his retirement except for a short period in 1964 when Laurie Johnson
was tried as a batsman-wicketkeeper.
Taylor made his Test
debut in 1971 in New Zealand at the end of the successful Ashes winning tour. Though highly regarded, Taylor was unable to displace incumbent Alan Knott
, a talented keeper and a superior batsman. It was only when Knott joined World Series Cricket
in 1977 that Taylor appeared in more Tests and was selected as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
in 1977. He continued to be England's choice keeper through the 1970s, falling three short of a maiden Test century in the 1978-79 Ashes, and retiring from Tests in 1984 - though he would make an emergency appearance for a day of Test cricket in 1986 - and all first-class cricket in 1988.
, Staffordshire
. He began cricketing early, keeping wicket in a car park next to Stoke City Football Club's home ground, before playing for his schools Under-15 XI aged 12. He also was on the books of Port Vale F.C.
as an apprentice, though he never played football professionally. At 15 years he played for Bignall End Cricket Club in the North Staffs and South Cheshire League and for Staffordshire in the Minor Counties cricket league. On his debut he was confused for a spectator because of his youth. He continued playing for Staffordshire from 1958 to 1960, whereupon he moved to Derbyshire
and joined the Second XI of Derbyshire County Cricket Club
.
record. With the bat, Taylor averaged only 16.92, and he is one of only two players to have passed 10,000 first-class runs without scoring a century though he subsequently scored exactly 100 against Yorkshire
at Sheffield
in 1981, his only first-class century. He also took one first-class wicket as a bowler.
He played his debut first class match against South Africa on 1 June 1960, appearing as keeper for a Minor Counties XI. He scored 11 and a duck
and did not take any catches behind the stumps. Thanks largely to recommendations by Cliff Gladwin
, he went on to make his County Championship
and Derbyshire debut on 7 June the follow year, scoring another duck and eight as well as taking two catches as Derbyshire drew with Sussex at the County Ground, Derby. His first victim was Sussex's Ken Suttle
, yet several players observed that he had much to learn; many bowlers condemned him for standing up to the stumps and missing edges. Taylor would go on to play 17 matches in his debut 1961 season for his county, scoring 20 runs at 11.38 with a best of 48, taking 47 catches and 6 stumpings behind the wicket. 29 more games followed in 1960, however his batting remained unimpressive, scoring 300 runs at 10.71 with a best of 44. He remained dependable behind the stumps, with 77 catches and three stumpings. His 77 catches set a new Derbyshire-record. He notched his first half-century in the 1963 season, though averaged under 10.00. His 32 first-class games that season, what would be a career high, and a career-best season total of 81 catches behind the timbers. This included all ten wickets in a match against Hampshire falling courtesy of his glove-work.
The 1964 season was marked for Taylor's mid-season ankle injury. Though it occurred when he was playing football, he told his county that he had slipped on an escalator. According to Wisden the experience taught Taylor to be fastidious in his attention to physical fitness. He nevertheless scored his second half-century and took 58 catches. Nevertheless, Derbyshire considered dropping Taylor for Laurie Johnson
, a more capable batsman. A effort with the pen from several Wisden contributors secured his reinstatement, however.
Taylor's strong keeping continued to secure his place in the side, though despite a career best 719 runs in the 1966 season his batting struggled, with no half-centuries to add to his tally. In 1967 his career was again put on hiatus through injury, when he edged a delivery into his own eye and suffered a detached retina which put him on his back for three weeks. He nevertheless took another 63 catches from 23 appearances, but managed only 442 runs at 18.41. His batting in the County Championship saw marginal improvement over the next two seasons, with a half century in 1968 and a career best 65 in 1969. The 1969 season also saw Taylor make his first major forays into List-A cricket. He made 19 appearances that year, having made only seven others over the previous six. He only scored 180 runs, however he took 28 catches behind the stumps which would be a season best for the rest of his career.
Over the winter of 1969, he was selected to tour Sri Lanka
with the Marylebone Cricket Club
. He played one match, on 20 February 1970, against Ceylon at Colombo
. He scored 7 and 19*, and stumped Anura Tennekoon
as the MCC moved to a convincing victory. Taylor returned to England for the 1970 county season, continuing his good form behind the stumps with 21 List-A and 51 Championship catches. He also snared 11 stumping victims, a career best. He toured with the MCC over the winter in Australia
, with 16 more victims from four matches though his batting disappointed, with 94 runs at only 18.80.
. Though Knott was incumbent, Illingworth rewarded Taylor's patience with a Test cap. Taylor made his Test debut against New Zealand
at Christchurch
on 25 February 1971. In an eight-wicket England victory, he took two catches and a stumping, but scored only four runs before being stumped by his opposite number. His quiet debut escaped any reference in Wisdens match report. He did not play another match on the tour, and would not play another Test for six more years.
. He took 21 catches, performed three stumpings and although he only scored 128 runs at 16.00 this including a half century against Western Australia
on 4 December. He returned to England for the summer of 1972, scoring another half century and snaring fifty batsmen from behind the stumps in the County Championship, and a further 23 in the one day arena. A further 77 batsmen fell to Taylor in 1973, and he earned a place on the MCC winter tour of the West Indies. Although not being selected for the Test series over the incumbent Knott, he scored 65 against Jamaica on 9 February, outscoring Knott's five. In doing so, he passed 6,500 first class runs in his career.
Taylor became a regular back-up keeper for Knott on England's winter tours. After a solid 1974 season with another County Championship half century and 86 victims with the gloves, he toured New Zealand with the England national side, and following 111 more wickets in 1975 toured South Africa
with the International Wanderers under Greg Chappell
. On facing a South African Invitation XI in Johannesburg
on 2 April Taylor, batting in the second innings, scored a career best 97 before being dismissed by Howard Bergins. Over 1976 and 1977, he took 164 more dismissals, and scored 910 runs including another half-century. He was selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1977, along with Mike Brearley
, Gordon Greenidge
, Michael Holding
and Viv Richards
.
in 1977 on the encouragement of Tony Greig
and was thus banned from Test cricket. Taylor was the next in line to take up the gloves, and returned to Test cricket on 14 December 1977 against Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium
in Lahore
. Although there had been three first-class warm-up fixtures, Taylor had not impressed with the bat and had been rotated out of the second game in order for Paul Downton
to have a chance at the gloves. Taylor nevertheless got the nod for the first Test. Captained by fellow Wisden Cricketers of the Year Brearley, he took two catches and a stumping, and score a lengthy 32 from 158 deliveries supporting Geoff Miller
who was eventually stranded on 98. He played in the following two Tests of the series, and though keeping tidily he was dismissed for a first ball duck
- a score of zero - in the second Test, though improved with a slow (and then career best) 36 from 200 balls and 18 not out
in the third match. He also played in the 2nd and 3rd One Day International fixtures. He remained the incumbent gloveman for the New Zealand leg of the tour, appearing in two warm up games and three Tests. He took four catches in the first, all from the bowling of Chris Old
, and scored a career-best 45 in the second. His 236 runs across the entire tour came at 21.45, and he took 20 catches and a stumping.
Taylor returned to the County Championship for three matches before the home Pakistan Test series. Taylor played in all three Tests, keeping well with eight catches but batting poorly, with 12 runs at only 6.00. Although he took five catches and three stumpings in the ODI series, he batted only once and did not score. He only had two more County Championship appearances before the home Test series against New Zealand on 27 July, where despite 12 catches and a stumping he again averaged low with the bat - 31 runs at 10.33. Nevertheless, he retained his place in the team.
Taylor joined the England team for the winter Ashes series of 1978/79, commencing the tour by facing South Australia on 3 November 1978. Though it was a quiet game with the bat, Taylor was in strong form behind the stumps - collecting eight victims though the tourists went on the loose the match. Facing New South Wales on 17 November, Taylor hit a forgettable nine, however four more scalps came, two of them from what was becoming a prolific partnership, both for England and Derbyshire, with Geoff Miller.
England went into the first Test on 1 December with mixed success in the warm up matches behind them. Australia batted first, however with wickets for Bob Willis
, Old and Ian Botham
, and five catches for Taylor, they were removed for only 116. Taylor, batting at number four, scored 20 runs as England replied with 286, however the tourists bowling success would not strike twice as Australia reached 339 to save the game, and Taylor was quiet behind the stumps that innings. England could only reach 170/3 by the end of play.
England, however, took a 166 run victory in the second Test, commencing on 25 December at the WACA. Taylor made only 14 runs, but he held onto six catches for England's potent bowling attack. Australia replied with a 103-run victory in the third Test, and Taylor was quiet both with the gloves and the bat. The fourth Test was equally unspectacular for Taylor, though England took a series-lead with a 93-run victory.
On 27 January 1979, Geoffrey Boycott
and Brearley walked out to bat at the Adelaide Oval
for the fifth Test, having been put in by Australia. The tourists were routed for 169 all out with Taylor only making four runs. He partnered with Botham to take two catches as Australia were, in return, routed for 164. England, needing to set a commanding total, reached 267/7 when Taylor walked out to bat with his fellow Derbyshire colleague Miller. Miller went on to make 64 before he was dismissed and John Emburey
came to the crease, however by the Time Taylor was sent back England had reached 336/8, Taylor having scored 97 runs from 300 balls. He passed his previous Test best of 45, and with his 97th run he both equalled his first-class best and reached 9,500 first-class runs. His dismissal was to a "tiny leg-side tickle" though, despite being three from a hundred, he chose to walk off the field. John Thicknesse in 2004 wrote that "it said everything about his sportsmanship." Though Taylor took no catches in the final innings, Willis and Mike Hendrick
combined to reduce Australia to 160 all out and give England victory. Taylor made 36 in the final Test match, three catches and a stumping as England took a convincing nine-wicket victory to seal the series. Taylor's 208 runs at 26.00 outscored captain Brearley, and he ended the Test series with 18 catches and two stumpings.
Taylor played a one day warm up match against Tasmania, however his ODI place was taken by David Bairstow
.
commenced in England, and Taylor was selected as keeper for the tournament which consisted of 60 overs per innings. England were seen as good prospects for the tournament, having won five of their previous six Tests thanks, according to Wisden, to "the bowlers, Bob Taylor's skilful wicket-keeping, and the all-round excellence of Ian Botham." 9 June saw the opening match of Group A, where England faced Australia at Lord's
. Taylor took one catch, but was not called on to bat as the hosts won by six wickets. Nor was he required to bat on 13 June when, in a two-day game where England demolished Canada for 45 all out and won by eight wickets. Against Pakistan on 16 June at Headingley he scored 20 from 59 balls and took two catches as England won by a narrower margin of 14 runs.
England thus reached the semi-finals, and faced New Zealand at Old Trafford on 20 June. Taylor, batting at nine, scored 12 runs from 25 before he was run out
, and New Zealand fell to 212 chasing 221. The final took place at Lord's on 23 June against the West Indies. The host team - minus an injured Willis - put the West Indies into bat, however a century from Viv Richards
took them to 286/9 - with Taylor taking one catch. Despite an opening partnership of 129 between Brearley and Boycott, England fell 92 runs short at 194 all out. Taylor, batting at ten, was dismissed for a first-ball duck from Joel Garner
before Hendrick was bowled by Colin Croft
to seal the West Indies' victory. Taylor's returns were modest, scoring only 32 runs at 16.00 with a best of 20*, and taking four catches but no stumpings.
Taylor returned to Derbyshire, who had reached the Semi-Final of the Benson and Hedges Cup, however despite taking two catches and scoring eight runs, Surrey took a six-run victory and knocked Derbyshire out of the competition. On 12 July, Taylor was back with the England team for three Tests against India, where he proved himself more formidable with the bat - with a knock of 64 inflating his average to 32.50.
only to protest the decision and have his reservations supported by the Indian captain Gundappa Viswanath
.
Taylor returned for the 1980 County Championship in England, and although he scored only 238 runs at 14.87 from 20 appearances he took 34 catches and performed seven stumpings, Derbyshire camp joint ninth that season.
On 10 June 1981, the touring Australian side faced Derbyshire in Derby
in a three-day drawn match. Taylor had as quiet game. remaining five not out and not taking part in any wickets. On 17 June, however, during a county Championship match against Yorkshire, Taylor hit the only century of his career. Having taken two catches and performed two stumpings in Yorkshire's first innings of 374, he helped Derbyshire reach 480 with an innings of exactly 100 before being caught and bowled by Phil Carrick
. The match was drawn before the third innings could begin.
Taylor again missed out on a place in the ODI team for the Prudential Trophy against Australia, with Geoff Humpage
making the only three international appearances of his career. Paul Downton
also took his place for the first Test of the 1981 Ashes series, where Australia took a four-wicket victory. Taylor was on the pitch for the 2nd Test, however, and despite scores of zero and nine took four catches as the match was drawn. In the third Test at Headingley, Taylor took seven catches though was outshone by Botham's all-round performance in England's 18-run victory. Two catches and eight runs came in England's 29 run win at Edgbaston
on 30 July.
Before the fifth Test, however, Knott - having returned from the Packer series and been admitted back into the Test fold, was awarded Taylor's place for the final two Tests. Taylor, his 1981 Ashes series truncated, finished with only 23 runs at a dire 3.83 average - the lowest of the entire England team including specialist bowlers. His keeping has netted him 13 catches, however. Knott, selected for his superior batting skills, scored 178 runs from his two Test matches at 59.33. Taylor instead returned to Derbyshire, and ended his season with 231 runs at 19.25, including his maiden century, 33 catches and 12 stumpings.
On 22 October he commenced his 1982/83 tour of Australia by passing 11,000 first class runs in a match against Queensland, before keeping wicket for all five Tests. Though he scored only 135 runs at 19.28, he took another 13 catches. He again missed out on the one day position, however, this time to Ian Gould
. Upon his return he played several matches for Derbyshire in the County Championship. His batting would continue to struggle, only 267 runs at 17.80, though he kept tidily with 37 catches and two stumpings through the season. Commencing in mid-July, he also took part in a four-Test home series against New Zealand, taking 11 catches but failing to make an impression with the bat - 63 runs at 10.50. He returned to New Zealand that winter, and then on to Pakistan, though despite keeping well he failed to score more than 83 runs at 9.22. He featured in all three ODI matches, however, taking two catches but scoring only 10 runs at 5.00 per innings. His batting was consistently below par despite his keeping ability, and the third test against Pakistan on 19 March 1984 at Lahore was to be his last. It was a quiet game for him, scoring only one and five, and taking one catch in a drawn fixture.
Taylor played a full stint in the 1984 County Championship, playing 18 matches and scoring 303 runs at 20.20, as well as taking 32 victims with the gloves. Derbyshire could only manage twelfth. Taylor fared well with the gloves in the one day tournaments also, taking 10 catches in the Benson and Hedges Cup, and eight more in the John Player Special League.
On 8 September Taylor commenced his final four days playing for Derbyshire's First XI. On that day, his last County Championship match began against Hampshire. No play took place on the following day, 9 September, to allow the John Player Special League match between the two counties, where Taylor look two catches but was not called on to bat. Following this game, on 10 September, the County Championship resumed with Hampshire on 535/4, Taylor having taken one catch to remove Trevor Jesty
from the bowling of Ole Mortensen
. Derbyshire declared without losing another wicket, and Derbyshire reached 322/3 declared without Taylor having to bat thanks to centuries from Kim Barnett
and Bill Fowler
. Taylor completed a stumping from Miller to restrict Hampshire to 245/8, and Derbyshire chased down the final total for a five-wicket victory without Taylor needed to come out of the pavilion. He then retired.
This would not be Taylor's last outing with the club, however. He captained Derbyshire Second XI in 1985 for eight games, though he did not keep wicket. Batting last in the order, he was rarely called on to bat. During New Zealand's 1986 Test match at Lord's, Taylor was present in the hospitality tent when Bruce French was injured by a Richard Hadlee
delivery. After trailing Bill Athey
behind the wicket, New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney
permitted Taylor to come on the field to keep for the remainder of the day. Wisden recorded "[Taylor] equipped himself with an assortment of borrowed kit, although he did, far-sightedly, have his own gloves in his car... Despite having retired from first-class cricket two years earlier, Taylor ... kept without a blemish." Bobby Parks
was brought in to keep for the following day. Also in 1986, Taylor was selected as part of Brian Close
's invitational XI to play New Zealand at Scarborough on 31 August. Taylor kept wicket, and scored 21 as well as taking two catches. He was part of Michael Parkinson
's World XI in 1988, playing against the MCC where Taylor again kept wicket and scored four runs.
stumper – considered a difficult skill in wicket keeping.
Taylor was careful with his fitness, following an ankle injury in 1964 kept him from the first seven games of the season. Taylor wore two pairs of thin Chamois inners and Mitre wicket-keeping gloves from which he cut away all the padding from inside the palms and removed the webbing. His reasoning for this was that he liked to feel the ball in his palm and if taking the ball correctly most of the time the bruising wasn't too troublesome. This can be contrasted with Knott who preferred plenty of padding on his palms.
Taylor was a popular member of the England and Derbyshire squads, his nickname "Chat" deriving from his willingness to talk to his team-mates and listen to their problems. Himself a mediocre batsmen but skilled keeper, Taylor has continued to advocate the picking of capable wicket-keepers over those with lesser ability behind the stumps but greater talent with the bat. He has been vocal over English selection policies since retirement, particularly those of Geraint Jones
, Chris Read
and Matt Prior.
England
England 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 is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played as wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
for Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
between 1961 and 1984 and for England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
between 1971 and 1984. He made 57 Test, and 639 first class cricket appearances in total, taking 1,473 catches. The 2,069 victims across his entire career is the most of any wicket-keeper in history. He is considered as one of the world's most accomplished wicket-keepers. He made his first class debut for Minor Counties against South Africa in 1960, having made his Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
debut in 1958. He became Derbyshire's first choice wicket-keeper when George Dawkes
George Dawkes
George Owen Dawkes was a first-class cricketer who played for Leicestershire between 1937 and 1939 and for Derbyshire between 1947 and 1961 as a wicket keeper and a lower-order right-handed batsman...
sustained a career ending injury. His final First Class appearance was at the Scarborough Festival
Scarborough Festival
The Scarborough Festival is an end of season series of cricket matches featuring Yorkshire County Cricket Club which has been held in Scarborough, on the east coast of Yorkshire, since 1876. The ground, at North Marine Road, sees large crowds of holiday makers watching a mixture of first class...
in 1988. He remained first choice until his retirement except for a short period in 1964 when Laurie Johnson
Laurie Johnson
Laurie Johnson is an English film and television composer, and bandleader.-Career:...
was tried as a batsman-wicketkeeper.
Taylor made his Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut in 1971 in New Zealand at the end of the successful Ashes winning tour. Though highly regarded, Taylor was unable to displace incumbent Alan Knott
Alan Knott
Alan Philip Eric Knott is a former Kent County Cricket Club and English cricketer, as a wicket-keeper-batsman....
, a talented keeper and a superior batsman. It was only when Knott joined World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
in 1977 that Taylor appeared in more Tests and was selected as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
in 1977. He continued to be England's choice keeper through the 1970s, falling three short of a maiden Test century in the 1978-79 Ashes, and retiring from Tests in 1984 - though he would make an emergency appearance for a day of Test cricket in 1986 - and all first-class cricket in 1988.
Early life
Taylor was born in Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. He began cricketing early, keeping wicket in a car park next to Stoke City Football Club's home ground, before playing for his schools Under-15 XI aged 12. He also was on the books of Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
as an apprentice, though he never played football professionally. At 15 years he played for Bignall End Cricket Club in the North Staffs and South Cheshire League and for Staffordshire in the Minor Counties cricket league. On his debut he was confused for a spectator because of his youth. He continued playing for Staffordshire from 1958 to 1960, whereupon he moved to Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
and joined the Second XI of Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
.
County stalwart
Taylor played in 639 first-class matches. His 1,649 dismissals (1,473 caught, 176 stumped) in 639 games remains a first-classFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
record. With the bat, Taylor averaged only 16.92, and he is one of only two players to have passed 10,000 first-class runs without scoring a century though he subsequently scored exactly 100 against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
at Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
in 1981, his only first-class century. He also took one first-class wicket as a bowler.
He played his debut first class match against South Africa on 1 June 1960, appearing as keeper for a Minor Counties XI. He scored 11 and a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
and did not take any catches behind the stumps. Thanks largely to recommendations by Cliff Gladwin
Cliff Gladwin
Clifford Gladwin was an English cricketer, who played for Derbyshire from 1939 to 1958, and in eight Tests for England from 1947 to 1949...
, he went on to make his County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
and Derbyshire debut on 7 June the follow year, scoring another duck and eight as well as taking two catches as Derbyshire drew with Sussex at the County Ground, Derby. His first victim was Sussex's Ken Suttle
Ken Suttle
Kenneth George 'Ken' Suttle was an English cricketer. He was primarily a left-handed batsman but was also a useful slow left-arm bowler. His first-class career with Sussex lasted from 1949 to 1971. He played in 612 first-class matches...
, yet several players observed that he had much to learn; many bowlers condemned him for standing up to the stumps and missing edges. Taylor would go on to play 17 matches in his debut 1961 season for his county, scoring 20 runs at 11.38 with a best of 48, taking 47 catches and 6 stumpings behind the wicket. 29 more games followed in 1960, however his batting remained unimpressive, scoring 300 runs at 10.71 with a best of 44. He remained dependable behind the stumps, with 77 catches and three stumpings. His 77 catches set a new Derbyshire-record. He notched his first half-century in the 1963 season, though averaged under 10.00. His 32 first-class games that season, what would be a career high, and a career-best season total of 81 catches behind the timbers. This included all ten wickets in a match against Hampshire falling courtesy of his glove-work.
The 1964 season was marked for Taylor's mid-season ankle injury. Though it occurred when he was playing football, he told his county that he had slipped on an escalator. According to Wisden the experience taught Taylor to be fastidious in his attention to physical fitness. He nevertheless scored his second half-century and took 58 catches. Nevertheless, Derbyshire considered dropping Taylor for Laurie Johnson
Laurie Johnson
Laurie Johnson is an English film and television composer, and bandleader.-Career:...
, a more capable batsman. A effort with the pen from several Wisden contributors secured his reinstatement, however.
Taylor's strong keeping continued to secure his place in the side, though despite a career best 719 runs in the 1966 season his batting struggled, with no half-centuries to add to his tally. In 1967 his career was again put on hiatus through injury, when he edged a delivery into his own eye and suffered a detached retina which put him on his back for three weeks. He nevertheless took another 63 catches from 23 appearances, but managed only 442 runs at 18.41. His batting in the County Championship saw marginal improvement over the next two seasons, with a half century in 1968 and a career best 65 in 1969. The 1969 season also saw Taylor make his first major forays into List-A cricket. He made 19 appearances that year, having made only seven others over the previous six. He only scored 180 runs, however he took 28 catches behind the stumps which would be a season best for the rest of his career.
Over the winter of 1969, he was selected to tour Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
with the Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
. He played one match, on 20 February 1970, against Ceylon at Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
. He scored 7 and 19*, and stumped Anura Tennekoon
Anura Tennekoon
Anura Tennekoon is a former cricketer.and captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He was educated at the S. Thomas' College in Mount Lavinia. After captaining the school team and being selected as best schoolboy batsman of the year, Tennekoon went on to play first-class cricket for the...
as the MCC moved to a convincing victory. Taylor returned to England for the 1970 county season, continuing his good form behind the stumps with 21 List-A and 51 Championship catches. He also snared 11 stumping victims, a career best. He toured with the MCC over the winter in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, with 16 more victims from four matches though his batting disappointed, with 94 runs at only 18.80.
New Zealand Test debut
With his experience with the MCC, and his county success behind the stumps, Taylor had been coming to the notice of England captain Ray IllingworthRay Illingworth
Raymond Illingworth, CBE is a former English cricketer, cricket commentator and cricket administrator. He was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in First class cricket, and the last one to do so...
. Though Knott was incumbent, Illingworth rewarded Taylor's patience with a Test cap. Taylor made his Test debut against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
at Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
on 25 February 1971. In an eight-wicket England victory, he took two catches and a stumping, but scored only four runs before being stumped by his opposite number. His quiet debut escaped any reference in Wisdens match report. He did not play another match on the tour, and would not play another Test for six more years.
County interim
Taylor instead returned to England for the 1971 season, improving with the bat and scoring 619 runs at 24.76, with three half-centuries and a best of 74*. He secured another 68 victims from behind the stumps across all matches. Over the winter of 1971/72, he was selected for the World Test XI tour of Australia, playing seven four-day matches under captain Rohan KanhaiRohan Kanhai
Rohan Bholalall Kanhai is a former West Indian Cricket player of Indo-Guyanese descent. He is widely considered as one of the best batsmen of the 1960s. Kanhai featured in several great West Indian teams, playing with, among others, Sir Garfield Sobers, Roy Fredericks, Lance Gibbs, and Alvin...
. He took 21 catches, performed three stumpings and although he only scored 128 runs at 16.00 this including a half century against Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
on 4 December. He returned to England for the summer of 1972, scoring another half century and snaring fifty batsmen from behind the stumps in the County Championship, and a further 23 in the one day arena. A further 77 batsmen fell to Taylor in 1973, and he earned a place on the MCC winter tour of the West Indies. Although not being selected for the Test series over the incumbent Knott, he scored 65 against Jamaica on 9 February, outscoring Knott's five. In doing so, he passed 6,500 first class runs in his career.
Taylor became a regular back-up keeper for Knott on England's winter tours. After a solid 1974 season with another County Championship half century and 86 victims with the gloves, he toured New Zealand with the England national side, and following 111 more wickets in 1975 toured South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
with the International Wanderers under Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
. On facing a South African Invitation XI in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
on 2 April Taylor, batting in the second innings, scored a career best 97 before being dismissed by Howard Bergins. Over 1976 and 1977, he took 164 more dismissals, and scored 910 runs including another half-century. He was selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1977, along with Mike Brearley
Mike Brearley
John Michael Brearley OBE is a former cricketer who captained the England cricket team in 31 of his 39 Test matches, winning 17 and losing only 4. He was the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 2007–08.-Early life:...
, Gordon Greenidge
Gordon Greenidge
Cuthbert Gordon Greenidge MBE is a former member of the West Indies cricket team.Greenidge was an opening batsman for the West Indies. He began his Test career against India at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore in 1974 and continued playing internationally until 1991. He was half of the West...
, Michael Holding
Michael Holding
Michael Anthony Holding is a former West Indian cricketer. One of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket, he was nicknamed 'Whispering Death' by umpires due to his quiet approach to the bowling crease...
and Viv Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
.
Return to Tests
Knott, the incumbent keeper for England, turned to World Series CricketWorld Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
in 1977 on the encouragement of Tony Greig
Tony Greig
Anthony "Tony" William Greig is a former English Test cricketer and currently a commentator.Born in Queenstown, South Africa, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish father. He was a tall batting all-rounder who bowled both medium pace and off spin. He became captain of the...
and was thus banned from Test cricket. Taylor was the next in line to take up the gloves, and returned to Test cricket on 14 December 1977 against Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium
Gaddafi Stadium
Gaddafi Stadium is a cricket ground in Lahore, Pakistan. It was designed by Daghestani-born architect and engineer Nasreddin Murat-Khan who also designed Lahore's Minar-e-Pakistan and constructed by Mian Abdul Khaliq and Company in 1959. Following the ground's renovation for the 1996 Cricket World...
in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
. Although there had been three first-class warm-up fixtures, Taylor had not impressed with the bat and had been rotated out of the second game in order for Paul Downton
Paul Downton
Paul Downton is a former English cricketer, who played in thirty Tests and twenty eight ODIs from 1977 to 1989. He was a wicket-keeper and a useful batsman in the lower middle-order...
to have a chance at the gloves. Taylor nevertheless got the nod for the first Test. Captained by fellow Wisden Cricketers of the Year Brearley, he took two catches and a stumping, and score a lengthy 32 from 158 deliveries supporting Geoff Miller
Geoff Miller
Geoffrey Miller is an English former cricketer, who played in thirty four Tests and twenty five ODIs for England from 1976 to 1984...
who was eventually stranded on 98. He played in the following two Tests of the series, and though keeping tidily he was dismissed for a first ball duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
- a score of zero - in the second Test, though improved with a slow (and then career best) 36 from 200 balls and 18 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
in the third match. He also played in the 2nd and 3rd One Day International fixtures. He remained the incumbent gloveman for the New Zealand leg of the tour, appearing in two warm up games and three Tests. He took four catches in the first, all from the bowling of Chris Old
Chris Old
Chris Old is an English former cricketer, who played in forty six Tests and thirty two ODIs from 1972 to 1981....
, and scored a career-best 45 in the second. His 236 runs across the entire tour came at 21.45, and he took 20 catches and a stumping.
Taylor returned to the County Championship for three matches before the home Pakistan Test series. Taylor played in all three Tests, keeping well with eight catches but batting poorly, with 12 runs at only 6.00. Although he took five catches and three stumpings in the ODI series, he batted only once and did not score. He only had two more County Championship appearances before the home Test series against New Zealand on 27 July, where despite 12 catches and a stumping he again averaged low with the bat - 31 runs at 10.33. Nevertheless, he retained his place in the team.
1978/79 Ashes series
England went into the first Test on 1 December with mixed success in the warm up matches behind them. Australia batted first, however with wickets for Bob Willis
Bob Willis
Robert George Dylan Willis MBE , known as Bob Willis, is a former English cricketer who played for Surrey, Warwickshire, Northern Transvaal and England...
, Old and Ian Botham
Ian Botham
Sir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
, and five catches for Taylor, they were removed for only 116. Taylor, batting at number four, scored 20 runs as England replied with 286, however the tourists bowling success would not strike twice as Australia reached 339 to save the game, and Taylor was quiet behind the stumps that innings. England could only reach 170/3 by the end of play.
England, however, took a 166 run victory in the second Test, commencing on 25 December at the WACA. Taylor made only 14 runs, but he held onto six catches for England's potent bowling attack. Australia replied with a 103-run victory in the third Test, and Taylor was quiet both with the gloves and the bat. The fourth Test was equally unspectacular for Taylor, though England took a series-lead with a 93-run victory.
On 27 January 1979, Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott OBE is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen...
and Brearley walked out to bat at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
for the fifth Test, having been put in by Australia. The tourists were routed for 169 all out with Taylor only making four runs. He partnered with Botham to take two catches as Australia were, in return, routed for 164. England, needing to set a commanding total, reached 267/7 when Taylor walked out to bat with his fellow Derbyshire colleague Miller. Miller went on to make 64 before he was dismissed and John Emburey
John Emburey
John Ernest Emburey is a former English cricketer, who played for Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Western Province, Berkshire and England....
came to the crease, however by the Time Taylor was sent back England had reached 336/8, Taylor having scored 97 runs from 300 balls. He passed his previous Test best of 45, and with his 97th run he both equalled his first-class best and reached 9,500 first-class runs. His dismissal was to a "tiny leg-side tickle" though, despite being three from a hundred, he chose to walk off the field. John Thicknesse in 2004 wrote that "it said everything about his sportsmanship." Though Taylor took no catches in the final innings, Willis and Mike Hendrick
Mike Hendrick
Michael Hendrick is a former English cricketer, who played in thirty Tests and twenty two ODIs for England from 1973 to 1981...
combined to reduce Australia to 160 all out and give England victory. Taylor made 36 in the final Test match, three catches and a stumping as England took a convincing nine-wicket victory to seal the series. Taylor's 208 runs at 26.00 outscored captain Brearley, and he ended the Test series with 18 catches and two stumpings.
Taylor played a one day warm up match against Tasmania, however his ODI place was taken by David Bairstow
David Bairstow
David Leslie Bairstow was an English cricketer, who played for Yorkshire and England as a wicket-keeper. He also played football for his hometown club Bradford City.-Early life and education:...
.
1979 World Cup
Taylor returned to England to make several Benson and Hedges Cup and John Player League List-A appearances, and resumed his capable keeping for Derbyshire in the County Championship - in a match against Leicestershire on 2 May he took four catches and performed two stumpings. In June, the 1979 Cricket World Cup1979 Cricket World Cup
The 1979 Cricket World Cup was the second edition of the tournament and was won by the West Indies. It was held from June 9 to June 23, 1979 in England. The format had remained unchanged from 1975. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in 2 groups of 4...
commenced in England, and Taylor was selected as keeper for the tournament which consisted of 60 overs per innings. England were seen as good prospects for the tournament, having won five of their previous six Tests thanks, according to Wisden, to "the bowlers, Bob Taylor's skilful wicket-keeping, and the all-round excellence of Ian Botham." 9 June saw the opening match of Group A, where England faced Australia at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
. Taylor took one catch, but was not called on to bat as the hosts won by six wickets. Nor was he required to bat on 13 June when, in a two-day game where England demolished Canada for 45 all out and won by eight wickets. Against Pakistan on 16 June at Headingley he scored 20 from 59 balls and took two catches as England won by a narrower margin of 14 runs.
England thus reached the semi-finals, and faced New Zealand at Old Trafford on 20 June. Taylor, batting at nine, scored 12 runs from 25 before he was run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
, and New Zealand fell to 212 chasing 221. The final took place at Lord's on 23 June against the West Indies. The host team - minus an injured Willis - put the West Indies into bat, however a century from Viv Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
took them to 286/9 - with Taylor taking one catch. Despite an opening partnership of 129 between Brearley and Boycott, England fell 92 runs short at 194 all out. Taylor, batting at ten, was dismissed for a first-ball duck from Joel Garner
Joel Garner
Joel Garner , also known as "Big Joel" or "Big Bird", is a former West Indian cricketer, and a member of the highly regarded late 1970s and early '80s West Indies cricket teams....
before Hendrick was bowled by Colin Croft
Colin Croft
Colin Everton Hunte Croft is a former West Indian cricketer. He provides expert analysis on the British Broadcasting Corporation's Test Match Special.-Cricket career:...
to seal the West Indies' victory. Taylor's returns were modest, scoring only 32 runs at 16.00 with a best of 20*, and taking four catches but no stumpings.
Taylor returned to Derbyshire, who had reached the Semi-Final of the Benson and Hedges Cup, however despite taking two catches and scoring eight runs, Surrey took a six-run victory and knocked Derbyshire out of the competition. On 12 July, Taylor was back with the England team for three Tests against India, where he proved himself more formidable with the bat - with a knock of 64 inflating his average to 32.50.
Australia 1979/80, 1981
From August 1979 to November 1981, Taylor and England would play Australia in two Ashes series, with one other Test against India. Taylor acquitted himself well over the winter tour of Australia and India, scoring 145 runs from four matches at 20.71, and his polished glovework took 20 catches and performed one stumping. On 15 February 1980, during the only Test against India in Bombay to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Taylor took seven catches in India's first innings, and three more in the second, all but two off the bowling of Botham. England won convincingly by ten wickets. His ten wickets for the match set a new world Test record. Taylor's 43 runs with the bat set a partnership of 171 runs with Botham, also a record sixth-wicket partnership for England against India. This included Taylor begin dismissed leg before wicketLeg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
only to protest the decision and have his reservations supported by the Indian captain Gundappa Viswanath
Gundappa Viswanath
Gundappa Rangnath Viswanath is a former Indian cricketer. He was one of India's finest batsmen throughout the 1970s. He played Test cricket for India from 1969 to 1983 making 91 appearances and scoring over 6000 runs. He also played in One Day Internationals from 1974 to 1982 including the World...
.
Taylor returned for the 1980 County Championship in England, and although he scored only 238 runs at 14.87 from 20 appearances he took 34 catches and performed seven stumpings, Derbyshire camp joint ninth that season.
On 10 June 1981, the touring Australian side faced Derbyshire in Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
in a three-day drawn match. Taylor had as quiet game. remaining five not out and not taking part in any wickets. On 17 June, however, during a county Championship match against Yorkshire, Taylor hit the only century of his career. Having taken two catches and performed two stumpings in Yorkshire's first innings of 374, he helped Derbyshire reach 480 with an innings of exactly 100 before being caught and bowled by Phil Carrick
Phil Carrick
Phillip Carrick was an English first-class cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1970 and 1993.Carrick was born in Armley, Leeds, Yorkshire, England, and began his first-class career in 1970...
. The match was drawn before the third innings could begin.
Taylor again missed out on a place in the ODI team for the Prudential Trophy against Australia, with Geoff Humpage
Geoff Humpage
Geoffrey William Humpage is a former English cricketer who played in 3 ODIs in 1981.As of 2009, he still holds the Warwickshire batting record for the fourth wicket - a stand of 470 with Alvin Kallicharran against Lancashire at Southport in 1982, of which Humpage contributed 254...
making the only three international appearances of his career. Paul Downton
Paul Downton
Paul Downton is a former English cricketer, who played in thirty Tests and twenty eight ODIs from 1977 to 1989. He was a wicket-keeper and a useful batsman in the lower middle-order...
also took his place for the first Test of the 1981 Ashes series, where Australia took a four-wicket victory. Taylor was on the pitch for the 2nd Test, however, and despite scores of zero and nine took four catches as the match was drawn. In the third Test at Headingley, Taylor took seven catches though was outshone by Botham's all-round performance in England's 18-run victory. Two catches and eight runs came in England's 29 run win at Edgbaston
Edgbaston Cricket Ground
Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England...
on 30 July.
Before the fifth Test, however, Knott - having returned from the Packer series and been admitted back into the Test fold, was awarded Taylor's place for the final two Tests. Taylor, his 1981 Ashes series truncated, finished with only 23 runs at a dire 3.83 average - the lowest of the entire England team including specialist bowlers. His keeping has netted him 13 catches, however. Knott, selected for his superior batting skills, scored 178 runs from his two Test matches at 59.33. Taylor instead returned to Derbyshire, and ended his season with 231 runs at 19.25, including his maiden century, 33 catches and 12 stumpings.
Final years
Taylor toured India and Sri Lanka over the winter of 1981/82, playing in seven Test matches. Though his keeping accounted for 19 batsmen, he scored only 88 runs over eight innings at 14.66. He kept for only two of the ODI matches, with Jack Richards taking the gloves from him for the rest. After a brief return to Derbyshire for the County Championship in May, he was again in the Test squad for the home series against India, taking nine catches but again a low 12.00 runs per innings from the three matches. Pakistan swiftly followed, and Taylor made 54 in England's second innings of the first Test at Edgbaston on 29 July,On 22 October he commenced his 1982/83 tour of Australia by passing 11,000 first class runs in a match against Queensland, before keeping wicket for all five Tests. Though he scored only 135 runs at 19.28, he took another 13 catches. He again missed out on the one day position, however, this time to Ian Gould
Ian Gould
Ian James Gould is an ICC Elite Panel cricket umpire and a former English cricketer. He is also chairman of English football club Burnham FC.-Player:...
. Upon his return he played several matches for Derbyshire in the County Championship. His batting would continue to struggle, only 267 runs at 17.80, though he kept tidily with 37 catches and two stumpings through the season. Commencing in mid-July, he also took part in a four-Test home series against New Zealand, taking 11 catches but failing to make an impression with the bat - 63 runs at 10.50. He returned to New Zealand that winter, and then on to Pakistan, though despite keeping well he failed to score more than 83 runs at 9.22. He featured in all three ODI matches, however, taking two catches but scoring only 10 runs at 5.00 per innings. His batting was consistently below par despite his keeping ability, and the third test against Pakistan on 19 March 1984 at Lahore was to be his last. It was a quiet game for him, scoring only one and five, and taking one catch in a drawn fixture.
Taylor played a full stint in the 1984 County Championship, playing 18 matches and scoring 303 runs at 20.20, as well as taking 32 victims with the gloves. Derbyshire could only manage twelfth. Taylor fared well with the gloves in the one day tournaments also, taking 10 catches in the Benson and Hedges Cup, and eight more in the John Player Special League.
On 8 September Taylor commenced his final four days playing for Derbyshire's First XI. On that day, his last County Championship match began against Hampshire. No play took place on the following day, 9 September, to allow the John Player Special League match between the two counties, where Taylor look two catches but was not called on to bat. Following this game, on 10 September, the County Championship resumed with Hampshire on 535/4, Taylor having taken one catch to remove Trevor Jesty
Trevor Jesty
Trevor Edward Jesty was a cricketer. He played 10 One Day Internationals for England but no Tests. He played 490 first-class matches from 1966 to 1991....
from the bowling of Ole Mortensen
Ole Mortensen
Ole Henrik Mortensen is a former Danish cricketer, probably the best his country has produced. A fast-medium right-arm bowler, in a first-class career with Derbyshire that ran from 1983 to 1994 he took 434 wickets at a good average of 23.88.For Denmark, Mortensen appeared in four ICC Trophy...
. Derbyshire declared without losing another wicket, and Derbyshire reached 322/3 declared without Taylor having to bat thanks to centuries from Kim Barnett
Kim Barnett
Kim John Barnett was an English cricketer who briefly played for England in 1988 and 1989, and for Derbyshire from 1979 to 1998. He also played for Gloucestershire from 1999 to 2002, and for South African club sides...
and Bill Fowler
Bill Fowler
William Peter Fowler is a retired English cricketer who played first-class cricket in England for Derbyshire in 1983 and 1984....
. Taylor completed a stumping from Miller to restrict Hampshire to 245/8, and Derbyshire chased down the final total for a five-wicket victory without Taylor needed to come out of the pavilion. He then retired.
This would not be Taylor's last outing with the club, however. He captained Derbyshire Second XI in 1985 for eight games, though he did not keep wicket. Batting last in the order, he was rarely called on to bat. During New Zealand's 1986 Test match at Lord's, Taylor was present in the hospitality tent when Bruce French was injured by a Richard Hadlee
Richard Hadlee
Sir Richard John Hadlee, MBE is a former New Zealand cricketer who played provincial cricket for Canterbury, Nottinghamshire and Tasmania. He is the son of Walter Hadlee, and the brother of Dayle and Barry Hadlee. His former wife Karen also played international cricket for New Zealand.Hadlee was...
delivery. After trailing Bill Athey
Bill Athey
Charles William Jeffrey Athey was an English first-class cricketer, who played for England, and first class cricket for Gloucestershire, Yorkshire and Sussex; he also played a solitary one-day game for Worcestershire. His bulldog spirit was exemplified by the Union Jack tattooed on his arm...
behind the wicket, New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney
Jeremy Coney
Jeremy Vernon Coney MBE is a former New Zealand cricketer, who played 52 Test matches and 88 ODIs for New Zealand, captaining them in 15 Tests and 25 ODIs. He was one of New Zealand's most successful batsmen, at least by average, and he made 16 fifties, but centuries often eluded him and he had to...
permitted Taylor to come on the field to keep for the remainder of the day. Wisden recorded "[Taylor] equipped himself with an assortment of borrowed kit, although he did, far-sightedly, have his own gloves in his car... Despite having retired from first-class cricket two years earlier, Taylor ... kept without a blemish." Bobby Parks
Bobby Parks
Bobby Ray Parks is an American professional basketball player from Grand Junction, Tennessee. He played for Memphis State University during the 1980s and played internationally in France and the Philippines...
was brought in to keep for the following day. Also in 1986, Taylor was selected as part of Brian Close
Brian Close
Dennis Brian Close , usually known as Brian Close, is a former cricketer who is the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England. He was picked for the Test team to play against New Zealand, in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England,...
's invitational XI to play New Zealand at Scarborough on 31 August. Taylor kept wicket, and scored 21 as well as taking two catches. He was part of Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
's World XI in 1988, playing against the MCC where Taylor again kept wicket and scored four runs.
Style and equipment
Taylor's wicket keeping abilities have been oft praised. In his citation for Cricketer of the Year for 1977, Wisden noted that "artistry - there is no other word for it - behind the stumps has long illumined even the darkest hours of Derbyshire cricket." He was known both for his acrobatic fielding behind the stumps, and his diligence and stamina, "he has been without peer in the world for some years and would clearly have graced the England team but for Alan Knott." He was noted for standing up to the stumps on nearly all occasions, stating that "Any decent slip catcher could do it standing back." By keeping his weight forwards and planted on his left foot, he was a skilled leg sideLeg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
stumper – considered a difficult skill in wicket keeping.
Taylor was careful with his fitness, following an ankle injury in 1964 kept him from the first seven games of the season. Taylor wore two pairs of thin Chamois inners and Mitre wicket-keeping gloves from which he cut away all the padding from inside the palms and removed the webbing. His reasoning for this was that he liked to feel the ball in his palm and if taking the ball correctly most of the time the bruising wasn't too troublesome. This can be contrasted with Knott who preferred plenty of padding on his palms.
Taylor was a popular member of the England and Derbyshire squads, his nickname "Chat" deriving from his willingness to talk to his team-mates and listen to their problems. Himself a mediocre batsmen but skilled keeper, Taylor has continued to advocate the picking of capable wicket-keepers over those with lesser ability behind the stumps but greater talent with the bat. He has been vocal over English selection policies since retirement, particularly those of Geraint Jones
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones MBE is an England cricketer of Welsh extraction but raised in Australia. Until August 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for England in both Test and One-day cricket, but fell behind Chris Read, Paul Nixon, Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose...
, Chris Read
Chris Read
Christopher Mark Wells Read is an English cricketer, a wicket-keeper who is the captain of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club...
and Matt Prior.