Bob Taylor (cricketer)

Infobox Cricketer


nationality = English
country = England
country abbrev = Eng
name = Bob Taylor
picture = Cricket_no_pic.pngbatting style = Right-handed batsman (RHB)
bowling style = Right arm medium (RM)
tests = 57
test runs = 1156
test bat avg = 16.28
test 100s/50s = 0/3
test top score = 97
test overs = 0
test wickets = -
test bowl avg = -
test 5s = -
test 10s = -
test best bowling = -
test catches/stumpings = 167/7
ODIs = 27
ODI runs = 130
ODI bat avg = 13.00
ODI 100s/50s = 0/0
ODI top score = 26*
ODI overs = 0
ODI wickets = -
ODI bowl avg = -
ODI 5s = -
ODI best bowling = -
ODI catches/stumpings = 26/6
date = 24 March
year = 1984
source = http://content.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/21494.html

Robert William ("Bob") Taylor (born July 17, 1941, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England) was a cricketer who played for Derbyshire and England.

He made his Test debut in 1971in New Zealand at the end of the successful Ashes winning tour. This gesture was apparently not appreciated by Alan Knott, the incumbent.) [It's Knott Cricket Alan Knott] . Though highly regarded, Taylor was unable to displace Knott who was among other things, a far superior batsman.It was only when Knott joined World Series Cricket in 1977 (which meant a ban from official Test cricket) that Taylor appeared in more Tests. He became England's regular wicket-keeper and played in 57 Test matches in total. He also played in 27 One Day Internationals.

Taylor played in 639 first-class matches. His 1649 dismissals (1473 caught, 176 stumped) in 639 games remains a first-class 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. He subsequently scored exactly 100 against Yorkshire at Sheffield in 1981, his only first-class century. [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/16331.html] He also took one first-class wicket as a bowler.

He was selected as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1977.

In 1986 he made an emotional return to Test cricket. Regular England wicket keeper Bruce French was struck on the head whilst batting, and Bill Athey temporarily took over the gloves whilst French was taken to hospital. In one of the hospitality suites, Bob Taylor was hosting a lunch. A message was sent out by England captain Mike Gatting, asking if Taylor had any kit with him. Fortunately Taylor had his gloves in the boot of his car (as he always did apparently), and after borrowing spare kit from other players (he later claimed the trousers that Gatting lent him were enormous!), took the field, several years after originally retiring. Taylor put in a fantastic display, belying his aging years. However after a fairytale return, Taylor relinquished the gloves the following day in favour of Bobby Parks, who had made the journey up from Hampshire.

His highest score in Test Cricket was 97 against Australia at Adelaide in 1978-9.

Bob 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 Alan Knott who preferred plenty of padding on his palms. [The Cricketer, 1988 Equipment supplement, pg 23]

References

External links

*cricinfo|ref=ci/content/player/21494.html
* [http://content.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/154501.html Wisden Cricketer of the Year citation]