Deeley: Taylor still confident of leading Ashes party (30 Mar 1997)

26 March 1997

Taylor still confident of leading Ashes tour party

By Peter Deeley

UNEASY lies the head that wears a crown. An embattled Mark Taylor yesterday expressed his determination to lead Australia in England this summer in the face of a growing chorus from critics calling for his dethronement.

He has led Australia to an undisputed position as unofficial world Test champions with wins in the last five months over both West Indies and South Africa. Yet, back home, the criticism has reached a crescendo following the final Test defeat here by South Africa, even though the series was won 2-1.

Taylor's attackers point to his miserable form with the bat - 360 runs in his last 20 Test innings - and are asking if the team can afford a captain who is no longer making a contribution with the bat. They are also worried that there could be a recurrence of the back trouble Taylor experienced here and which forced him to have an operation last year.

But after meeting with Trevor Hohns, Australia's chief selector, Taylor, 32, said: "I am still quite confident I will be leading the side in England. No one has told me anything to the contrary."

He admits agonising over his poor form. "I sometimes wonder if I have lost it for good. The pressure builds up and the more you try the harder it becomes to break free.

"I think at one stage early in the West Indies series I got lazy. I didn't get runs on pitches where I should have done. Then it just became more difficult."

Taylor puts his poor run down in part to the pressures of captaincy. "The workload is so much more than just playing. I'm averaging 34-35 as captain when I was 46-47 as just an opening bat. Those figures tell their own story."

The Australian captain acknowledges that he is not totally over his back troubles. "But it has improved otherwise I wouldn't have stayed on here for the one-day series." If Taylor is still in charge, few prisoners will be taken in the Ashes series. Coming off 17 straight result Tests (10 wins; seven losses) he is dedicated to maintaining that aggressive approach.

Australia arrive in England on May 12 and Taylor declared: "We go into every match in a positive frame of mind and never even think about drawing."

He is confident that Glenn McGrath, who is going home for treatment on his left ankle, will be fit and thinks Brendon Julian, who has been drafted in for the one-day games, will also be in the party. His selection would require a rapid rethink from Surrey over their overseas player for this season.

Taylor also believes that Michael Slater - controversially dropped from Test status and now engaged by Yorkshire - will make a strong effort for reinstatement in England. He has high hopes that two faces new to England, fast bowler Jason Gillespie and left-hander Matthew Elliott, will play a major part.

Elliott is another omitted from the coming one-day series against South Africa, which starts on Saturday, but Taylor says that is because he is not a natural limited-overs batsman. "He is a class act, technically outstanding and I think he will make a big impression in England."

Taylor has few doubts about Australia's ability to retain the Ashes. "But then I expect to win every series. I think England are an improving side and going into the series as underdogs will actually be a plus for them.

"They were written off after Zimbabwe but by all accounts they played very well in New Zealand. We haven't seen a lot of people like Dominic Cork at international level but they've got guys who can take wickets."

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)