One of women's cricket's finest
Claire Taylor, who announced her retirement from international cricket on Friday, did a great deal, through her mixture of intellect and application, to raise the standards of her team and of women's cricket in general, writes Mike Selvey in The
Liam Brickhill
25-Feb-2013
Claire Taylor, who announced her retirement from international cricket on Friday, did a great deal, through her mixture of intellect and application, to raise the standards of her team and of women's cricket in general, writes Mike Selvey in The Guardian.
Taylor's personal story is an interesting tale of how she used her hyperintelligence to plan a path to the top of her game. She is 35 now, and says she is creaking a bit. The gym is used more for rehab than training and her body, as much as a recognition that there is a future career to plan as well, has told her it is time to go. When she was 21, though, her cricket lay before her. She was a high-flying Oxford maths graduate, singled out for a lucrative career in IT. Instead, as a fine hockey player, but a batsman of no great distinction and a sometime wicketkeeper, she announced her intention to transform her game.
In the Independent, Stephen Brenkley says Taylor was so good she changed the perception of her sport.
Liam Brickhill is a freelance journalist based in Cape Town