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| Mark Taylor is
affectionately known in the cricket world as "Tubby." |
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| During his
career, Mark scored a total of 7525 runs at an average of 43.49 |
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| During his
Test career, Mark Taylor took 157 catches, mostly fielding at first
slip. This is a world record for a non-wicketkeeper. |
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| Mark was named
captain of Australia in 1994, after the retirement of Allan Border.
During his period as skipper, he lost only three Test series (in
Pakistan 94/95, in India 96/97 and in India 97/98). |
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| He played his
first Test match at the S.C.G. on January 26th 1989, against the West
Indies. His final Test ended on the same ground against England, on
January 5th 1999. |
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| During his
career, Taylor played 104 Test matches, and made 19 centuries, the
largest of which was 334 not out against Pakistan at Peshawar in 1998. |
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| His total of
334 not out equalled the great Don Bradman's record for the highest
score by an Australian in Test cricket. |
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| Tubby, who was
34 years of age when he announced his retirement, is married with two
young sons, William 6 and Jack 4. |
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| Mark Taylor
was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1990. |
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| During his
career, Mark also played in 113 One-day Internationals, 67 as captain,
scoring 3514 runs at an average of 32.24. |
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| On 25th
January 1999, Mark Taylor was announced as Australian of the Year by the
Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. John Howard. |
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| Mark was born
on 27th October 1964, at Leeton, New South Wales. He began playing
cricket in his home town of Wagga Wagga, about six hours drive west of
Sydney. |
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| Mark Taylor
was to become the 7th player "from the bush" to be given Australia's
most prestigious sporting position since the Second World War. The
others were Bradman, Brown, Hassett, Morris, Craig and Booth. |
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| Taylor
captained the Australian side for almost five years, through one of the
most turbulent eras of Australian cricket, winning 26 of his 50 tests as
captain, losing 13 and drawing 11. |
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| Mark Taylor
was dumped as the captain of the one-day side in 1997 and replaced by
Steve Waugh, the man destined to replace him as Test captain in 1999. |
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| During his
career, Tubby only got to bowl 7 overs in Test cricket - and three of
them were maidens! He did take one wicket for a total of 26 runs. |
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| On his first
tour of England, Mark Taylor scored an amazing 839 runs at an average of
83.90. |
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| In addition to
"Tubby," Mark is also known as "Stodge" or simply "Tayls." |
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| In all first
class matches up to early February 1999, Mark has scored a total of
17353 runs at an average of 42.01. During this time, he has scored 41
centuries, 96 half centuries and taken 350 catches. |
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It has often
been argued that a good captain can help to make a good team. Although
Tubby acknowledges this fact, he also believes that "you've still got to
have some good cattle in the shed."
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| Mark
Taylor made his One-day International debut in a World Series match
against Sri Lanka at the M.C.G. in 1989/90. |
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| Mark was
to play his last One-day International in a Texaco Trophy match
against England at The Oval in 1997. |
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| During his
One-day International career, Mark made one century (105) and 28
half centuries. He also took a total of 56 catches in these games. |
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| There is
little doubt that Mark Taylor will be remembered as one of the best
slips fieldsmen to ever play the game. |
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| In one of
his most memorable innings, Mark Taylor "carried his bat" in the
first innings of the third Test against South Africa at Adelaide
Oval in 1997/98. |
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| When Mark
Taylor went through his form slump during 1996/97, he went 20
consecutive innings without scoring a half-century. This was the worst
form slump of any Australian captain in Test history. |
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| However,
during this slump, his team-mates backed him, the selectors backed him
and the Board backed him - and his form slowly returned, beginning with
a remarkable century in the first Test at Headingley against England in
1997. |
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| Mark's strike rate in One-day
Internationals was 59.42 runs per 100 balls. Not bad for an opener who
was most likely dropped for not scoring quickly enough! |
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On February 2nd
1999, Mark Taylor announced his retirement from international cricket.
Sports Card
World salutes the man affectionately known as "Tubby" and acknowledges
his very special contribution to cricket in Australia, and the rest
of the cricket world.
A veteran of
104 Tests, 50 as captain, Mark won three Ashes series against the old
enemy, England, a series against South Africa, the first victory
against the West Indies in 23 years and the first series triumph over
Pakistan for 39 years. |
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The Story in
Numbers
Test Match Batting
Record
Vs England
| |
M |
I |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
100 |
50 |
Ct |
| Home |
15 |
30 |
1 |
917 |
113 |
31.62 |
1 |
8 |
24 |
| Away |
18 |
31 |
1 |
1588 |
219 |
52.93 |
5 |
7 |
22 |
| Total |
33 |
61 |
2 |
2505 |
219 |
42.45 |
6 |
15 |
46 |
Vs India
| |
M |
I |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
100 |
50 |
Ct |
| Home |
5 |
10 |
1 |
422 |
100 |
46.88 |
1 |
3 |
7 |
| Away |
4 |
8 |
1 |
253 |
102* |
36.14 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
| Total |
9 |
18 |
2 |
675 |
102* |
42.18 |
2 |
3 |
10 |
Vs New Zealand
| |
M |
I |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
100 |
50 |
Ct |
| Home |
7 |
10 |
2 |
509 |
142* |
63.62 |
2 |
3 |
16 |
| Away |
4 |
6 |
0 |
157 |
82 |
26.16 |
0 |
2 |
9 |
| Total |
11 |
16 |
2 |
666 |
142* |
47.57 |
2 |
5 |
25 |
Vs Pakistan
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M |
I |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
100 |
50 |
Ct |
| Home |
6 |
10 |
1 |
728 |
123 |
80.88 |
3 |
5 |
13 |
| Away |
6 |
10 |
2 |
620 |
334* |
77.50 |
1 |
3 |
7 |
| Total |
12 |
20 |
3 |
1348 |
334* |
79.29 |
4 |
8 |
20 |
Vs South Africa
| |
M |
I |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
100 |
50 |
Ct |
| Home |
6 |
10 |
1 |
569 |
170 |
63.22 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
| Away |
5 |
9 |
0 |
177 |
70 |
19.66 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
| Total |
11 |
19 |
1 |
746 |
170 |
41.44 |
2 |
3 |
17 |
Vs Sri Lanka
| |
M |
I |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
100 |
50 |
Ct |
| Home |
5 |
9 |
1 |
463 |
164 |
57.87 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
| Away |
3 |
6 |
0 |
148 |
43 |
24.66 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Total |
8 |
15 |
1 |
611 |
164 |
43.64 |
2 |
1 |
11 |
Vs West Indies
| |
M |
I |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
100 |
50 |
Ct |
| Home |
11 |
21 |
1 |
390 |
46 |
19.50 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
| Away |
9 |
16 |
1 |
594 |
144 |
39.60 |
1 |
5 |
13 |
| Total |
20 |
37 |
2 |
984 |
144 |
28.11 |
1 |
5 |
28 |
Overall Test Batting
Statistics
| |
M |
I |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
100 |
50 |
Ct |
| Home |
55 |
100 |
8 |
3998 |
170 |
43.45 |
11 |
22 |
97 |
| Away |
49 |
86 |
5 |
3537 |
334* |
43.66 |
8 |
18 |
60 |
| Total |
104 |
186 |
13 |
7535 |
334* |
43.55 |
19 |
40 |
157 |
Career Highlights
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Born 27th October at
Leeton in New South Wales
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Debut: New South
Wales 1985
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Made a century in his
first Test against England, at Headingley in 1989. Scored 839 runs for
the series at an average of 83.90.
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Made centuries in his
first Test matches vs Sri Lanka, South Africa and Pakistan.
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Carried bat in the
first innings of third Test against South Africa at Adelaide in 1998,
scoring 169* out of Australia's total of 350.
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Scored 334* against
Pakistan in Peshawar in October 1998, equalling Don Bradman's record
for the highest score by an Australian in Test cricket.
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Took over the
captaincy of Australia from Allan Border in 1994. Record 26 wins, 13
defeats, 11 draws. Led Australia in 13 Test series, losing only three.
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Holds many
partnership records: first wicket against England, New Zealand, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka, third wicket against South Africa and fourth wicket
against Sri Lanka.
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He is the second
highest run scorer for Australia behind Allan Border (11 174 runs). He
has taken more catches (157) than any other Test cricketer.
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He has played 113
one-day internationals, scoring 3514 runs at 32.24.
Career Lowlight
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Mark's career has
had its ups and downs. During 1996 -97, many were calling for his
sacking as Australian captain. Taylor could not make a run! At one
stage, he had gone for 20 consecutive innings without a half century
and he was in the worst form slump of any Australian captain in
history.
He reached the lowest point in the first innings of the First Test of
the 1997 Ashes tour. When he was caught cheaply at first slip in that
Edgbaston Test, even Tubby thought this surely must be the end. And
yet, under all that pressure Mark Taylor came through. |
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In the second
innings, Mark was able to produce one of the most remarkable and
dramatic centuries ever made in the history of Test cricket. What Others
Said
Mark Taylor's
announcement to retire from international cricket brought a flood of
comments from fans, past and present players and journalists from all
over the world.
"Mark Taylor
has set a bench mark in the professional era for Australian captains
to match and exceed."
Denis Rogers
(Chairman, Australian Cricket Board)
"He is the best
and most tactically astute captain I have ever played against and he
has helped make Australia the best team in the world."
Alec Stewart
(England captain)
"I'd like on
behalf of all Australians to thank Mark Taylor for a magnificent
innings as captain of Australia. He has been a very great captain."
John Howard
(Prime Minister of Australia)
"He will go
down in history as one of the all-time good captains for Australia."
Shane Warne
(Australian team-mate)
"In my opinion,
he is one of the great captains of all time."
Ali Bacher
(Managing Director, United Cricket Board of South Africa)
"Mark Taylor
was one of the toughest opponents mentally that I have come across,
but off the field he was as friendly as anyone."
Hansie Cronje
(South African Captain)
"Never heard
anyone say a bad thing about him."
Bill Brown
(Former Australian Captain)
What Tubby
Said
At his press
conference to announce his retirement, Tubby made the following
comments.
"I know that
today I've made the right decision ..... I really feel that I'm
starting to lose the edge to compete, particularly on the
international stage."
"I'll be quite
happy to have a beer with anyone who wants to buy me one."
"I feel that my
heart is not quite in it ..... and if it is not in it, I won't do
well."
"I am leaving
it happy and I am looking forward to the next few years."
"I never
thought of myself as anyone very special."
"I am not much
of a one for grandstanding."
"I didn't feel
I would be able to give everything in the West Indies as a batsman,
and I didn't want to be there as a captain only."
"Cricket has
given me more than I've given it."
Summary
Mark Taylor
will be sadly missed. In the final analysis, the record will show that
Taylor was one of the greatest of all Australian captains, one of the
most prolific run-scorers and a man with few equals at first slip.
However, what
will be missed the most is the way Mark Taylor played the game. During
his career, he epitomised everything that is good about the game of
cricket. He played with a fierce determination, displayed modesty,
humility and good sportsmanship throughout a time of great upheaval in
Australian and World cricket. He helped bring a sense of dignity back
to the game that we have come to love.
For this, he
will be remembered!!!
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