Derief Taylor

Derief Taylor, who died in Kingston, Jamaica, his native island, on March 15, was a left-hand batsman and left-arm spinner who played 16 matches for Warwickshire between 1948 and 1950. Taylor had met Warwickshire batsman 'Tom' Dollery while serving with the Eighth Army on the North African campaign and for this reason alone he gave up a taxi business in Kingston to offer his services to the county.

Taylor scored 519 runs in 23 innings for an average of 32.43, his best score of 121, and only first-class century, being obtained as a nightwatchman against Leicestershire at Edgbaston in 1949. His 15 wickets were taken at the high cost of 40.46 runs each, and he obtained four catches.

He took up coaching while suffering from an arm injury in 1951 and proved so successful in his dealings with schoolboy cricketers that he remained on the Warwickshire staff until his retirement in 1981. In later years Derief Taylor - and his 'Struggliri' reply to enquiries concerning his health or fortunes-became an integral and seemingly permanent part of Edgbaston and his decision to return to Jamaica in 1982 was received with surprise and great sadness.

Unfortunately it was not the happiest of homecomings; his health went into a sharp decline and his death, though regretted, was not unexpected. For many years the reference books gave September 17, 1918 as Taylor's birth date but he once confided in me that he had 'reduced' his age. Opinions among those who knew him suggests it was likely to have been by 10 years. Although verification has been imposs-ble, I feel that it is probable that he was born in Kingston on September 17, 1908, and was therefore 78 years old at his death.

Taylor's son John showed great all-round sporting ability as a youth before devoting himself to law; a barrister and a member of Solihull County Borough Council, John Taylor is currently prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate for the Great Barr constituency of Birmingham.*
The Cricketer, May 1987

* John Taylor failed in two bids to be elected to parliament, but was made a peer in 1996 and took the title Lord Taylor of Warwick.