Chris Taylor (cricketer, born 1981)
Encyclopedia
Christopher Robert Taylor (born 21 February 1981, Leeds
, Yorkshire
, England
) is an English
former first-class cricket
er. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler.
for eight seasons, and, although his first-team playing time was limited, he saw plenty of action in the Second XI. Taylor broke through into the first team and made his debut in the County Championship
winning season of 2001. His opportunities were limited, although he impressed in the first XI, most notably in 2004, but soon found himself back in the Second XI after he was replaced by Joe Sayers
and Andrew Gale
.
In November 2006, Taylor signed for Derbyshire
on a two-year contract, and, within a month of the start of the season, Taylor had hit two centuries, one against Glamorgan
and the other against his old club, Yorkshire, in a match winning innings at Headingley
. Taylor became the first Derbyshire cricketer in their history to score a century on his first-class and one day debuts for the club. At the end of his first season at Derbyshire, Taylor had made five first class centuries, was named one day player of the year, and finished second in the National One Day averages second to Darren Lehmann
.
Despite an improved further two year contract, Taylor asked to be released from Derbyshire at the end of the 2007 season, leaving the club with immediate effect. Tom Sears, the county's chief executive, called his decision "very disappointing".
On 17 September 2007, he was re-signed by Yorkshire on a three year contract. Taylor was hampered with a hamstring injury for most of his first season, but on his first appearance of the season he struck a six off the last ball to win the Twenty20
match against Leicestershire
.
Despite consistent performances in Yorkshire's Second XI, Taylor found no opportunity in the first team. At the end of the 2009 season, Taylor decided to call time on his career in a mutual decision with Yorkshire. He finished his career with five first-class centuries to his name, a County Championship winners medal, and scoring twenty five Second XI hundreds.
Taylor with his business partner, Andrew Gale
, now runs the Pro Coach Cricket Academy across the UK
, providing expert cricket coaching for young cricketers by current and former professional cricketers.
Taylor currently plays for Lightcliffe C.C. In the 2010 season, he finished top of the batting averages for the Bradford Cricket League
for the fourth time. He also became the quickest player to a 1,000 league runs in the history of the Bradford League taking only fourteen innings. He finished the season with 1,436 runs at an average of 95.70, to become the highest scorer in the history of Lightcliffe C.C. surpassing the Indian Test
player, Mohammed Kaif
.
In 2011, Taylor, along with Gale set up the All Rounder Cricket Store, opposite the Headingley ground.
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England
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...
) is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
former first-class cricket
First-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...
er. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler.
Life and career
Taylor was present at Yorkshire County Cricket ClubYorkshire 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....
for eight seasons, and, although his first-team playing time was limited, he saw plenty of action in the Second XI. Taylor broke through into the first team and made his debut in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
winning season of 2001. His opportunities were limited, although he impressed in the first XI, most notably in 2004, but soon found himself back in the Second XI after he was replaced by Joe Sayers
Joe Sayers
Joe Sayers is an English first-class cricketer, who has played for the Oxford University Centre of Cricketing Excellence, Oxford University and Yorkshire...
and Andrew Gale
Andrew Gale
Andrew William Gale is an English first-class cricketer, who plays for and captains Yorkshire County Cricket Club...
.
In November 2006, Taylor signed 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...
on a two-year contract, and, within a month of the start of the season, Taylor had hit two centuries, one against Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
and the other against his old club, Yorkshire, in a match winning innings at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
. Taylor became the first Derbyshire cricketer in their history to score a century on his first-class and one day debuts for the club. At the end of his first season at Derbyshire, Taylor had made five first class centuries, was named one day player of the year, and finished second in the National One Day averages second to Darren Lehmann
Darren Lehmann
Darren Scott Lehmann is a former Australian cricketer, who made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection for the entirety of the 1990s, and only became a regular in the ODI team in 2001 and Test team in late 2002, before being dropped in early 2005...
.
Despite an improved further two year contract, Taylor asked to be released from Derbyshire at the end of the 2007 season, leaving the club with immediate effect. Tom Sears, the county's chief executive, called his decision "very disappointing".
On 17 September 2007, he was re-signed by Yorkshire on a three year contract. Taylor was hampered with a hamstring injury for most of his first season, but on his first appearance of the season he struck a six off the last ball to win the Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
match against Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
.
Despite consistent performances in Yorkshire's Second XI, Taylor found no opportunity in the first team. At the end of the 2009 season, Taylor decided to call time on his career in a mutual decision with Yorkshire. He finished his career with five first-class centuries to his name, a County Championship winners medal, and scoring twenty five Second XI hundreds.
Taylor with his business partner, Andrew Gale
Andrew Gale
Andrew William Gale is an English first-class cricketer, who plays for and captains Yorkshire County Cricket Club...
, now runs the Pro Coach Cricket Academy across the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, providing expert cricket coaching for young cricketers by current and former professional cricketers.
Taylor currently plays for Lightcliffe C.C. In the 2010 season, he finished top of the batting averages for the Bradford Cricket League
Bradford Cricket League
The Bradford Cricket League is an amateur cricket competition centred in Bradford, West Yorkshire...
for the fourth time. He also became the quickest player to a 1,000 league runs in the history of the Bradford League taking only fourteen innings. He finished the season with 1,436 runs at an average of 95.70, to become the highest scorer in the history of Lightcliffe C.C. surpassing the Indian 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...
player, Mohammed Kaif
Mohammed Kaif
Mohammad Kaif is an Indian cricketer. He is a thinly built cricketer who made it to the national team on the strength of his performances at the Under-19 level, where he captained the Indian team to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000...
.
In 2011, Taylor, along with Gale set up the All Rounder Cricket Store, opposite the Headingley ground.
External links
- Chris Taylor at Cricket Archive
- Cricket Coaching at Pro Coach Cricket Academy
- Chris Taylor Official Blog from Cricket Web