Brendan Taylor

Profile

Pushed to the deep end very early in his career, Brendan Taylor over the years has come leaps and bounds to become one of Zimbabwe’s premier batsman and has also made a name for himself as his team’s crisis man, having pulled off several games single-handedly.

Taylor, who made his domestic debut for Mashonaland A when he was just 15, showed early glimpses of his talent when he scored 200 not out in a Logan Cup game; and also went on to play in two Under-19 World Cups. However, in 2004, following many of Zimbabwe’s leading players leaving the game, in a desperate move, selectors gave Taylor the go ahead despite his inability to come up with consistent performances in domestic cricket. A string of low scores followed but the right hander finally came good in the final game of his debut ODI series against Sri Lanka with a top score of 74. He retained his place in the subsequent Test series and went on to score a half century in his second Test. 2004-05 proved to be the turning point in his career as he scored a first class century on the tour to Pakistan and also enjoyed a fine run in the domestic circuit. Few off-field discretions saw him dropped from the team mid-2005, but selectors couldn’t ignore his batting talents for long and just months later, he was back in the Test side.

Following the then captain Taibu’s retirement from international cricket, Taylor donned the wicket keeping gloves and with the pressure of being a specialist batsman no longer present, began to go from strength to strength. In an ODI against Bangladesh, with 5 needed off the last ball, Taylor managed to pull off a humungous six, guiding Zimbabwe to a miraculous win. But it wasn’t to be the last gem he played, as his unbeaten 60 in the 2007 T20 World Cup also earned Zimbabwe a famous win over Australia. With Taibu’s return, Taylor has been relieved of his wicket-keeping duties but still continues to don them occasionally when the need arises. Often criticized for not converting starts, unbeaten centuries against South Africa and Bangladesh in 2010 are clear indications that the right hander has turned over a new leaf. That consequently led to his appointment as Zimbabwe’s captain in 2011, as he took over from Elton Chigumbura, ahead of the team’s return to Test cricket.

Fast Facts

• Brendan Taylor became only the fourth Zimbabwean keeper to score an ODI century.
• He was the first Zimbabwean to have scored a half century in T20Is.

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Career

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