Andrew Flintoff 'didn't realise how good' ICC Hall of Famer Sarah Taylor was

Former England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame this week along with other big names of the game, like MS Dhoni, Sana Mir, Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla and Daniel Vettori. But instead of attending the glitzy ceremony in London, Taylor chose to continue with her coaching duties with the England Lions squad in Northampton.

But that only means she got to have a ceremony for herself, officiated by another England great, Andrew Flintoff, who is the Lions' head coach.

"She's going to hate me for this, but they are also inducting a legend of the game, Sarah Taylor," Flintoff said to Taylor while surrounded by the Lions players. "I knew you were a good cricketer, Sarah, but I've had a little dive into your career. I didn't realise how good you were - three times World Cup winner with England [the 2009 and 2017 ODI World Cups and the 2009 T20 World Cup], a pioneer and trailblazer for the women's game, also inspired so many boys and girls over your career. And at the epicentre of a successful England Women's team. "She scored 36 fifties and seven hundreds in international cricket. And the one thing which I looked at which I'm staggered about - and she'll say, 'Oh that's because I stood up to the stumps' - she had over a hundred stumpings in international cricket. That to me suggests probably one of the best ever to wear the wicketkeeping gloves in any form of the game."

Flintoff also acknowledged that Taylor achieved all this while dealing with mental-health issues. "I know how humble you are. And to a career that's had its struggles, and it's something to which I can testament to as well, which just shows how good you are. You know, a resilience, a passion, a pride.

"When it comes to spending time with you, we are so, so lucky to have you. You have a skill set that no one else can teach. You do it with a smile, fun, and an empathy that's really rare. The world of cricket has been so lucky to have you. And this Lions group, we are so lucky to have you and we appreciate everything you do on a daily basis and everything you've done for cricket over the years.

"I'm sure you're squirming now, and I really want you to. I'm not going to wind you up because there's a lot of words thrown about - 'great players', 'legend', this or that, but you truly are."

In an 13-year England career, Taylor scored over 6500 runs and effected 232 dismissals and was named the ICC T20I Cricketer of the Year in 2012 and 2013 and the Women's ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2013.