There are few players in world cricket who despite debuting more than two decades back are still extremely relevant in today’s time, carving their legacy to reach heights unparalleled despite age not being on their side.
When one ponders on this, a name that immediately springs to mind is that of Sean Williams, the tireless servant of Zimbabwean cricket who has scored oodles of runs with his willow and castled stumps aplenty with his orthodox left-arm slower ones. And another name that perhaps also comes to mind is a compatriot of Williams who despite being in and out of the Zimbabwean national team has still kept himself more than relevant in the minds of the die-hard Chevrons faithful.
Who are we referring to?
Well, it’s none other than the stylish and extremely gifted right-hand keeper bat, Brendan Ross
Murray Taylor. A talent like no other who has had his share of idiosyncrasies on and off the 22 yards, with a case in point example being his decision to retire post the 2015 ODI World Cup when he was at the pinnacle of his batting prowess, being the highest run getter for the Chevrons in this mother of all cricketing tournaments with 433 runs at an average of 72 and a strike-rate of 106.
Bemusing, if one were to reckon!
Well, this is Brendan Taylor, an enigma who has always played by his own rules knowing that he perhaps has been and still is one of the best batters to come out of this southern African nation. This likely reinforced his belief that a Kolpak deal was the best way at the time to earn what his talent truly deserved—something Zimbabwean cricket couldn’t offer—leading him to sign with Nottinghamshire.
With this being said, it only took him two years to make the U-turn back to the Chevrons fold when he came out of retirement in October 2017, against the West Indies and continued to be one of their best performers right up till 2021.
Well, another shock awaited the Chevron fans in 2021 when Brendan Taylor announced his retirement once more, only to later reveal his involvement in a match-fixing incident—an admission that led to a three-and-a-half-year ban imposed by the ICC.Perhaps a period that would see most cricketers walk into the sunset with age not being on their side and a reputation that has been irrevocably tarnished.
Well, not for Brendan Taylor as he has yet again defied the impossible to make another comeback into the Zimbabwean fold, this time at the age of 39 when most other cricketers would look at roles off the field or possibly even alternate careers.
Yes, let this sink in!
This brings me to the title of this piece: What could yet another homecoming of Brendan Taylor mean for Zimbabwean cricket? Well, the answer is simple.
It would mean everything that Zimbabwe needs rectified in their current scheme of things as despite playing a high number of games, in particular Test matches, they still are consistently ending up on the wrong side of the bargain. As the likes of England, South Africa and now New Zealand and they will whole heartedly agree having humbled this southern African nation.
And the biggest reason for this rather dismal showing is their over reliance on possibly the best batter in their current setup, Sean Williams. Yes, whenever this southpaw has contributed, Zimbabwe has had some semblance of being competitive albeit when he has failed, they have looked worst than school boys trying to make sense of the 22 yards.
With the inclusion of Brendan Taylor this could change, as Zimbabwe would not only have another world class batter back in their ranks but also a very capable keeper, giving captain Craig Ervine the much needed flexibility with his team combinations. His experience of playing this beautiful game for the last two decades could also potentially rub off on youngsters, the likes of Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Nick Welch and others who are desperate to make their talent result in their nation win something.
After all, Brendan Taylor has already notched up 17 centuries for his country, putting him numero uno on the list and perhaps an 18th could be just around the corner! Well, one would surely hope so, as pride and a series is at stake in a matter of a few days against the Black Caps as the second Test beckons.
