Biography of Mark Taylor:- Mark Taylor is a former International cricketer and a specialist batsman who played for Australia between 1989-1999. Mark Anthony Tylor was born on 27th October 1964 in Leeton, New South Wales, Australia.
He is one of the greatest players and captains of Australia; Mark Taylor is currently the Director of Cricket Australia, he is a good man, a loving one and diplomatic in his stance and game.
He is also associated with the Nine Network and commentates in the International matches. Mark Taylor was a person of high values, he took over as a test captain after the retirement of Allan Border and remained in the position for five years.
During the tenure, Mark Taylor made remarkable changes and alignments to the domestic and International structure of Cricket Australia that the fruits are still utilized after 20 years.
Biography of Mark Taylor
- Born:- 27 October 1964 (age 52), Leeton, Australia
- Test Debut:- 26 January 1989 v West Indies
- ODI Debut:- 26 December 1989 v Sri Lanka
- Last ODI:- 24 May 1997 v England
- Spouse:- Judi Taylor (m. 1989)
- Nicknames:- Tubs, Tubby
Mark Taylor was a complete all-rounder; he was a sharp fielder and had the highest number of catches at the slip position during his test career. He bowled as a right-arm medium pace bowler but the immense strength and the art to middle it perfectly was the best way to impress selectors and spectators.
See Also: Biography of Glenn McGrath
Mark Taylor contested in 104 games and created a strong base for Australian test and ODI side to utilize what he did in the coming decade what was later termed the Golden Era of Cricket for Australia.
Taylor’s highest score was against Pakistan against the tough spin and pace attack at Peshawar Stadium, he scored 334 and remained not out declaring the inning in away series in 1998.
He opened the innings for most of the time in career, and the left-handed batsman scored enough to win for his team everywhere in the World. Apart from test cricket, Mark Taylor wasn’t the type of limited overs cricket, his highest score in ODIs was mere 105 against India in 1996.
After the Ashes 99, Mark Taylor decided to retire from test squad, he hosted several sports shows and appeared as a celebrity and analyst frequently soon after the retirement.
Domestic Career
Mark Taylor started as an opening batsman for New South Wales; he was a resident of Wagga. Later moved to Sydney, Taylor played for Northern Districts in high school.
He was a teammate of Steve and Mark Waugh, the twin International players at Under-19 level. He was inducted as an opening batsman of NSW in Sheffield Shield tournament in 1985. Mark Taylor contested in Bolton League for Green mount.
Mark Taylor Stats and Records
Taylor started off in International cricket with a best-ever average for a newcomer i.e. 83.90 throughout the series against England. Later went on to become a pro in every department, Mark continued as a successful captain playing his part all time.
Mark wasn’t fit for ODI as he admitted himself and only appeared in 113 games. In 104 test matches, Mark Taylor managed to get past 7500 runs at an average 43.49, and it comprised 19 centuries and 40 fifties with a best individual score of 334 not out at Peshawar.
The next skill that Mark Taylor was good at was fielding, he took 157 catches in total and took only one wicket in his Test career. In 113 ODIs, Mark Taylor only score a single hundred against India and went on to gather 3514 runs along with 28 fifties and 56 ODI catches.
In 253 first-class games, Mark Taylor scored 17415 runs at an average 41.96 with 41 centuries and 97 fifties in total. Overall, Mark Taylor took 350 catches in his first-class profession.
International Career
Mark Taylor started off with a bang. He made test debut against the West Indies at his home ground. At first, Mark Taylor was utilized as a middle-order batsman and later converted to a top-class opening batsman in the next two years to the last match.
The next series against England was his career-best, Mark was unstoppable in the series, he amassed around 839 runs in a series with an average nearing 84 per inning.
In the same series, Mark Taylor made his first century and a double century and Australia won the series outclassing England by 4-0.
In 1990, Taylor was again on top of the chart, he completed a thousand runs in the first year of test career included his back-to-back centuries and then match-winning fielding skills at first slip most of the time.
In December 1989, Mark Taylor made his ODI debut, a year after inclusion in the test squad, the primary reason was his temperament as a player who needs time to adjust and then play his strokes at the crease.
Taylor’s average in ODIs was never too much impressive contrary to the brilliance shown in test format. In Ashes 1990-91, all eyes seemed gazed upon the last year match-winner for Australia. He scored two half-centuries followed by the under par scores and finished the Ashes with an average of 23.
In the later year, he couldn’t find the nick and continuously failed to performed at home, and away series in test and ODIs. At last, Mark Taylor scored a match-winning century and fifty in the fifth test and a consolation victory for Aussies in 1990 tour to West Indies.
The next season was going well for Mark Taylor, he had quite a good test series against India. The runs were coming against India; it was also the first time that Mark Taylor was appointed as a vice-captain of the team.
In 1992 World Cup, coming after two matches and two defeats, Australia couldn’t manage to forward themselves in the tournament as Taylor, and the rest of the team weren’t able to win and qualify for the playoffs.
After the World Cup, Taylor couldn’t get it right for the Aussies in tests and was dropped for few months. He was recalled against New Zealand where he scored a half-century in the first test and then another fifty in the second test.
In the following games and ODI series against Kiwis, Mark Taylor scored 307 runs in 8 matches with an average of 38 per inning. In 1993 Ashes, Mark Taylor found his opening partner and a friend from the neighborhood Michael Slater.
Both had a unique chemistry, and both went on to make mutual and individual records in Test cricket later on.
After a dazzling century in the first test of Ashes 1993, Mark Taylor and Slater cruised in the second test making 260-run partnership stand and another hundred for Taylor himself.
Australia won the Ashes 4-1, thanks to the solid partnerships at the opening spot. His batting average remained 42.80 in five tests.
Mark Taylor was handed the captaincy in 1994 season after the retirement of Allan Border. He was having a string of bad performances in ODIs, and totally opposite phenomena occurred in the test format.
In 1994, Mark Taylor visited Pakistan as a captain of both formats. It was no more than a disaster as Australia spoiled it all in the second inning of each match. Pakistan won the series 1-0 in the end.
After the tour, Mark Taylor regained the form and Australia were back on track winning consecutive test series against England and then West Indies. Taylor’s average remained above 30 in two series.
Australia toured the most difficult sub-continental pitches for series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1995-96 season. Mark Taylor had a good form in the series against Lankans, he scored 69 in the first game and then 123 runs in the second innings of the second match.
His batting average was 67.60 after the series. Australia won the test series by 3-0. In 1996 World Cup, Mark Taylor captained the World Cup squad, Australia reached the finals dramatically and by luck ending it losing to Sri Lanka in the final. Taylor scored 74 in the final match.
After 1996 World Cup, Taylor won as a captain but failed to impress selector regarding his batting skills. In 1997 Ashes series, Mark Taylor was again unable to score big with the bat.
In ODI series before the Ashes test series, Mark Taylor scored only 18 runs in two matches and dropped himself from the third one. In Ashes, he was failed to create a win scenario for the Aussies. After a long drought, Mark Taylor finally scored a century and won the Ashes for Australia by a 3-2 margin.
Taylor won the series against New Zealand by 2 to nil, and it included Taylors’ century in the first test ending the series with 214 runs and an average above 50.
Australia lost the next series against India, however, winning a match to end the streak of losing in India. In 1998, Mark Taylor captained Australia for Pakistan tour.
Australia won the first test after 39 years in Pakistan by a huge margin. In the second test, Mark Taylor made his career-best 334 not out in Peshawar Stadium, Pakistan. It was the longest innings of Taylor’s career also becoming the highest run-scorer test captain for Australia that time.
In the second inning, he added another 92 runs and became the second highest run-scorer in a test match overall. Australia won their first game and then series against Pakistan in Pakistan, Mark Taylor finished the series with a batting average of 128.25 and 513 runs.
In Ashes 1998-99, Mark Taylor had his final Ashes encounter with England. He also completed 100 tests in the first game of Ashes ’99. Australia won the series 3-1, Mark Taylor broke Allan Border’s individual record of taking most catches i.e. 157.
After Taylors’ retirement after the Ashes, Australia was stronger than ever in test, and ODIs. His successor Steve Waugh helped Australia win 16 consecutive test matches, a world record of winning by any Test-playing nation. As a Captain in 50 tests, Mark Taylor won 26 and lost in 13 games for Australia.
Awards and Achievements
In 1999, shortly after the retirement, Mark Taylor was named Australian of the Year for his brilliant captaincy for Australia in tests. He also joined Channel 9 as a commentator for Australia’s home series.
In 2000, Taylor also won Australia Sports Medal and then Centenary Medal in 2001. In 2002, Mark Taylor was inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame along with the Order of Australia in the latter year. Waitara Oval Cricket Ground was named Mark Taylor Oval honoring his services to the game.
Mark Taylor Family & Personal Life
Mark Taylor married Judi Taylor in 1989, his father Tony was a banker. Mark Taylor has three children, a daughter, Katelyn Taylor and two sons, Jack Taylor and William Taylor.
Mark Taylor wife Jody is an activist of blood and organ donor society. Jodi Taylor donated a kidney to her brother Grafton Matthews as he had lupus and failed kidney since he was 14.
Autobiography of Mark Taylor
Mark was a natural sportsman; it was his best quality. As an Australian, he always stood opposed Australia’s sledging tactic against the opponents, and it was the reason he was given the highest civilian award in Australia i.e. Australian of the Year.
The autobiography of Mark Taylor named Mark Taylor: Time to Declare was published in 1999 and was entirely written by the legend himself.
A complete story of Taylor’s captaincy, career before that and his personal life were written in the best way possible. He is considered the architect behind Australia’s success as a team that was ripe as soon as he retired from International cricket. He is defined as the second-best cricketer of Australia after Sir Donald Bradman.
The natural talent of Australia clearly defines the term; Stats don’t matter. His stats aren’t the one to judge the class and respect for Mark Taylor.
Back there in Lepton, the opportunities were limited for such a world-class batsman to get discovered. For youngsters, Mark Taylor is a perfect example as far as sportsmanship, leadership, and spirit are concerned.
