Sarah Jane Taylor is a former English cricketer. She is a wicket-keeper-batter known for her free-flowing stroke play, opening the batting in one-day matches and batting in the middle order in Tests. She was a member of the England team which retained the Ashes in Australia in 2008. She plays county cricket for Sussex. In September 2019, Taylor announced her retirement from all forms of international cricket, following an ongoing anxiety issue.
Career
The inclusion of Taylor and her future England team-mate Holly Colvin in the Brighton College boys' team caused some controversy within the MCC. On 30 June 2009, she scored 120 at a run-a-ball in the 2nd One Day International at Chelmsford, overtaking Enid Bakewell's 118 in 1973 as the highest individual score against Australia by an Englishwoman. On 8 August 2008, she broke the record for the highest stand in women's One Day International cricket with a first wicket partnership of 268 with Caroline Atkins at Lord's for England against South Africa. She went on to score 129. On 1 September 2008 she became the youngest woman cricketer to score 1000 runs in One Day Internationals when she scored 75 not out at Taunton in England's 10 wicket win against India. She reached 1000 runs when she had scored 16. At the start of the cricket season she was the first woman player ever to play in the Darton first XI. She has also been joined at Darton by Katherine Brunt, England bowler. She opened the batting for England in their victories in the 50 over World Cup in Australia and the Twenty/20 World Championship in 2009. However, she pulled out of the England tours of 2010 and 2011, including the Ashes match in Australia. She won the T20I Women's Cricketer of the Year in 2012 and 2013, and was the holder of one of the first tranche of 18 ECB central contracts for women players, which were announced in April 2014. She was named as the ICC Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2014. In 2015, she became the first woman to be inducted in the Legends Lane at the Brighton and HoveCounty Cricket Ground at Hove. Also in 2015 she became the first woman to play men's grade cricket in Australia, when she appeared as wicketkeeper for Northern Districts against Port Adelaide at Salisbury Oval in South Australia's premier men's competition. In May 2016, Taylor announced she had been suffering from anxiety which she said had been adversely affecting her cricket performance. She announced a break from playing to 'prolong her career'. She resumed playing in April 2017 and in June she was selected for the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup, at which she and Tammy Beaumont set the record for the highest 2nd-wicket partnership in Women's Cricket World Cup history in a 68-run victory over South Africa. Taylor's innings of 147 was her career best in ODIs. Taylor was a member of the winning women's team at the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup held in England. In December 2017, she was named as one of the players in the ICC Women's ODI Team of the Year. In February 2019, she was awarded a full central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board for 2019. In June 2019, the ECB named her in England's squad for their opening match against Australia to contest the Women's Ashes. In July 2019, ahead of the Women's Twenty20 International matches of the Women's Ashes, Taylor withdrew herself from England's squad, to take time away from the game, due to mental health issues. In September 2019, Taylor retired from international cricket due to her health issues.
