| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 19 June 1932 West Ham,Essex, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 12 June 2017 (aged 84) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Tonker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicketkeeper, Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1949–1973 | Essex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FC debut | 7 May 1949 Essex v Cambridge University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LastFC | 31 August 1973 Essex v Nottinghamshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LA debut | 22 May 1963 Essex v Lancashire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LastLA | 2 September 1973 Essex v Warwickshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:CricketArchive,15 June 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brian Taylor (19 June 1932 – 12 June 2017) was an Englishcricketer who played for and captainedEssex County Cricket Club.[1]
Known as "Tonker" Taylor for his forthright approach to batting and his evident enjoyment of the game, Taylor was a high-classwicketkeeper who was thought of in his early playing days as a potential successor toGodfrey Evans asEngland's keeper. He was named asYoung Cricketer of the Year in 1956 by theCricket Writers' Club, his first full season, though he had made hisfirst-class debut seven years earlier. He toured South Africa with theMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC)side in 1956-57 as understudy to Evans, but did not feature in any of theTest matches as Evans had one of his most brilliant Test series.
In the event, his left-handed batting did not develop as much as had been hoped, and the Test call never came. But Taylor still had a long and distinguished career in county cricket. From 1961 to 1972, he played in 301 consecutiveCounty Championship matches for Essex, and he captained the county from 1967 to 1973, when he retired. Under his captaincy, Essex assembled the nucleus of the young team that was to bring the county its first-ever trophies in the years after Taylor retired.
In all cricket, Taylor made 1,294 dismissals, which puts him seventh on the all-time list of wicketkeepers. He also made more than 19,000 runs in a total of 572 first-class matches. He was selected as aWisden Cricketer of the Year in 1972. He was a Test selector for England from 1973. He took part in the first cricket tour of Bangladesh whenMCC visited in 1976-77.
He also played football withBexleyheath and Welling andDeal Town in theKent League andSouthern League.
He died in 2017.[2]