Brendan Taylor appreciation thread

[eugene]

Just a reminder of Taylor's first ODI match. Zimbabwe actually did surprisingly well given that this was the first post-rebel walkout fixture and no one had heard of most of these guys. Of course as the series went on we were exposed by the Sri Lankans.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64887.html

[foreignfield]

Just a reminder of Taylor's first ODI match. Zimbabwe actually did surprisingly well given that this was the first post-rebel walkout fixture and no one had heard of most of these guys. Of course as the series went on we were exposed by the Sri Lankans.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64887.html

Thanks for the reminder, Eugene. Those were the days when everything rested on Taibu's shoulders: batting, keeping, captaincy, even bowling his little medium-pacers -- I would have thought he swapped the gloves with Taylor, but it was Maregwede who kept for him whilst bowling. I don't know why but I always remembered Maregwede hitting a six off Murali to light up those dark days ... and checking the commentary it could well have been this particular match I remembered.

[eugene]

Maregwede didn't do much of anything with the bat internationally so it probably was this match.

[TheName]

Won't forget the last ball 6 he hit against BD in '06, absolutely hated him for that

[syedmahm]

I know that I don't post much often, but I am a true follower of ZIM, specially the international matches. But, the fact is I am certainly in a position of appreciating Brendan Taylor's decision. I have always been a great fan of him and I will always be. As the way he carried the heavy load on his shoulder for all these years is remarkable. Anybody that follows ZIM cricket knows this. He has always stuck with the team days in and days out. A player like his caliber could easily have left the country a long time ago. But he has never left and it is his passion to the ZIM cricket that will still be an example to the young generation. But when we needed a player like him the most, just when the thing has started to look brighter with the appointment of Whatmore and other few things, he has left us. Sorry fellows, I can't appreciate his decision to leave us. But, I have always appreciated his contribution for ZIM and I will always.

[SpitfiresKent]

Nottinghamshire are currently on a pre season tour of Barbados and I doubt BT will be joining up with them just yet, so the next time we see BT in action could potentially be March 30th when Notts' play Northants in a 2 day friendly match at Trent Bridge.

[eugene]

This is what Ray Price had to say about the BT situation:

"Brendon would not be signing a Kolpak agreement if zim cricket was looking after him. Brendon said it in a round about way but bottom line is He's not being paid what he is worth. His last innings just proved how valuable he is to us, not just as a player but for the younger players to have someone to follow, learn from and belief that they too can succeed in cricket. Watch Misbah from Pakistan with his younger players in the middle, watch how much he talks to them and teaches them how to work out tough situations on the pitch in the heat of battle. We lose our players at their most crucial times and at their height of their powers. Until zc can stop this we will never reach our potential"

[brmtaylor.com admin]

Some appreciation for Brendan Taylor on the ICC website: http://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-worl ... episode-29

[brmtaylor.com admin]

112 off 116 today - his first century in Pakistan. Bravo BT!
How he's not captain across all formats is mind boggling.

Some of the strokes he played today were as good as that famous game against India in the WC:

[zimfan1]

Of his 11 ODI centuries, only one has come in a Zimbabwe victory (2018 against Afghanistan).