Sarah Taylor will take charge of England’s catching and ground-fielding when the Test side meet New Zealand at Lord’s next month, filling in for regular coach Carl Hopkinson, who is tied up with Mumbai Indians at the IPL.
The former England women’s wicketkeeper, who turns 37 next week, has been working all winter with Andrew Flintoff and the England Lions. Those sessions impressed decision-makers enough for Rob Key, managing director of England men’s cricket, to offer a short-term Test role – believed to be the first time a woman has coached a senior men’s international team.
Key got straight to the point. “I just think she’s one of the best in the business at what she does,” he said. “She’s been outstanding, and she’s worked a lot with Andrew Flintoff and Ed Barney. They can’t speak highly enough of her. So from what we can see, she’s one of the best in the business.”
Taylor’s playing CV backs that up. Across 226 England caps she set new standards behind the stumps, her lightning glovework central to the 2017 World Cup win. Since retiring she has logged coaching stints with Sussex and Manchester Originals – dipping into men’s cricket without fuss or fanfare.
England, meanwhile, could do with a tidy pair of hands. During the winter Ashes they grassed 11 chances – roughly one in every five – and many within the camp admitted that lapses cost them a realistic shot at 2-2 rather than a 4-1 defeat. Notably, no specialist fielding coach toured Australia, a gap critics pounced on once the urn had slipped away.
Hopkinson was swiftly reappointed for the new cycle, Troy Cooley also returning as full-time bowling coach after a three-year gap. Yet the crowded calendar means clashes are inevitable, and Taylor’s availability comes at a handy moment. Key explained the juggling act. “We’ve been thoroughly, unbelievably impressed with [Taylor] and the way that she goes about her business,” he said. “Carl Hopkinson, as is the nature of the cricket world that we have at the moment, he’s working with Mumbai Indians. He has a lot of stuff that he does for them, so we’ll still use him at some point, just not for this series.”
Players meeting Taylor in Lions camps talk about calm drills, firm standards and an eye for small technical gains – getting fingers pointing the right way at slip, extra throws from mid-on, that sort of thing. Nothing fancy, just repeatable movements under pressure, which is often where Tests are won and lost.
Her appointment also signals, quietly but clearly, that coaching roles in elite men’s cricket are opening up. A handful of women have worked inside county or franchise dressing rooms before, but this is Lord’s and a three-match Test series on terrestrial television. Even so, the ECB are at pains not to oversell a simple piece of staffing. Taylor was available, highly qualified, and the players like her sessions – that is the story.
England’s squad for New Zealand, named on Wednesday, includes uncapped wicketkeeper James Rew, who has already spent time under Taylor’s wing. His presence may fast-track the new coach’s influence; equally, senior catchers such as Joe Root and Ben Stokes will welcome any edge after a mixed winter with the mitts.
For Taylor the task is straightforward: sharpen England’s fielding, plug a hole while Hopkinson is away, then step back. If she succeeds, the next pioneering post might not be far away, but for now the focus is on the first morning at Lord’s and making sure the first chance sticks.
