Cricinfo - Players and Officials

Full name Brendan Ross Murray Taylor
Born February 6, 1986, Harare
Current age 22 years 251 days
Major teams Zimbabwe, Mashonaland A, Zimbabwe Under-19s
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Fielding position Wicketkeeper

Batting and fielding averages

Mat

Inns

Runs

Ave

100

Tests

422

21.10

918

45.96

ODIs

1929

28.36

3062

62.99

171

T20Is

112

60*

56.00

127.27

First-class

2694

193

30.96

List A

109

107

2583

25.83

Twenty20

433

85*

39.36

366

118.30

Bowling averages

Mat

Inns

Balls

Runs

Wkts

BBI

BBM

Ave

Econ

Tests

5.42

ODIs

210

224

3/54

28.00

6.40

26.2

T20Is

First-class

258

161

2/36

53.66

3.74

86.0

List A

109

324

311

5/28

22.21

5.75

23.1

Twenty20

Career statistics

Test debut

Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka at Harare, May 6-8, 2004 scorecard

Last Test

Zimbabwe v India at Harare, Sep 20-22, 2005 scorecard

Test statistics

ODI debut

Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka at Bulawayo, Apr 20, 2004 scorecard

Last ODI

Pakistan v Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura, Feb 2, 2008 scorecard

ODI statistics

T20I debut

Bangladesh v Zimbabwe at Khulna, Nov 28, 2006 scorecard

Last T20I

England v Zimbabwe at Cape Town, Sep 13, 2007 scorecard

T20I statistics

First-class debut

2001/02

Last First-class

Centrals v Northerns (Zimbabwe) at Kwekwe, May 10-13, 2008 scorecard

List A debut

2003/04

Last List A

Zimbabwe v Eagles at Bulawayo, Mar 9, 2008 scorecard

Twenty20 debut

Eagles v Zimbabweans at Kimberley, Sep 13, 2006 scorecard

Last Twenty20

Titans v Zimbabwe at Centurion, Apr 11, 2008 scorecard

Brendan Taylor, who was fast-tracked into the Zimbabwe national team against Sri Lanka in 2003-04 at the age of 18 after the withdrawal of the so-called rebel players, shot to prominence at Cape Town on September 12, 2007, when his ice-cool 60 not out carried Zimbabwe to an incredible five-wicket win over Australia in the ICC World Twenty20. Taylor was back where he began as an opening batsman, having briefly moved down the order, and he marshalled a tense run-chase with the sort of sang froid that few had ever credited him with. He's always had the ability to build an innings, but developed a penchant for being dismissed while trying to play too aggressively. He was nurtured by Iain Campbell, father of Alistair, at the well-known Lilfordia primary school near Harare, and was a regular choice for national age-group teams and played in two Under-19 World Cups. He made his first-class debut for Mashonaland A at the age of 15; the following year he scored 200 not out in the B Division of the Logan Cup. He appears to be well regarded in Zimbabwe Cricket, so much so that he was picked for the national side despite not signing a new contract at the start of 2006, and despite an earlier suspension for disciplinary reasons. With the departure of Tatenda Taibu, he took over the wicketkeeping gloves in the West Indies; he has kept wicket regularly since primary school. As a batsman he was well respected by the opposition, but tended to get out when well set. Poor footwork was also a handicap at times, but he is working to improve that. His favourite stroke is the full-blooded front-foot cover drive.
Steven Price September 2007

Feb 2, 2008

Sarfraz Ahmed tries to stop a shot by Brendan Taylor © AFP

Feb 2, 2008

Sarfraz Ahmed celebrates Brendan Taylor's dismissal © AFP

Feb 2, 2008

Brendan Taylor thought he had reached 50 but his score was later revised to 49 © AFP

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