Claire Taylor

Claire Taylor

Samantha Claire Taylor MBE (born 25 September 1975) is a former cricketer who represented England over 150 times between 1998 and 2011. A batsman who played at the top of the order, Taylor is the only woman to have been named one of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack's Cricketers of the Year. Along with Charlotte Edwards, she was the mainstay of England's batting during the first decade of the 21st century, and played a key role in their victories in the World Cup and the World Twenty20 in 2009.

Despite not playing cricket until the age of 13, Taylor made her county cricket debut aged 17. Initially considered a wicket-keeper with limited batting ability, Taylor struggled to break into the England team. She made her international debut in 1998, and within two years was a consistent member of the team. After an unsuccessful campaign in the 2000 World Cup, Taylor left her job to become a full-time cricketer, despite the financial strain it put her under. Over the subsequent five years, she developed into one of the leading batsmen in women's cricket, but after another failure in the 2005 World Cup she resumed her career alongside cricket.

In 2006, Taylor made the highest score in an ODI at Lord's Cricket Ground, remaining 156 not out at the close. Her subsequent development as a batsman resulted in her being short-listed for the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year in 2007 and 2008, and she won the award in 2009. She was the leading run-scorer in the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup, and the player of the tournament in the Women's World Twenty20 later in the year. Her batting was less consistent after 2009, with low scores in the 2010 Women's World Twenty20, and a tour of Sri Lanka later that year. In her final summer of cricket, she performed well in the pair of quadrangular tournaments played in England, and completed her career with batting averages in excess of 40 in both Test and ODI cricket.