In a watershed moment for cricket and a move that highlights the sport’s push towards gender neutrality, England women’s cricket legend and former wicketkeeper batter Sarah Taylor has been appointed as the fielding coach of the men’s team for the upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand.
This will mark the first instance of a woman working in the coaching staff of any major men’s side in English sport.
The Ben Stokes-led side will start their home season with three Test matches against the Kiwis from 4th June. The announcement was made by the England Cricket Board’s (ECB) director of cricket while also naming the 15-man squad for the series. This will mark England’s first Test series since the Ashes debacle, which has led to wholesale changes in the squad as Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope were dropped.
Sarah Taylor’s Landmark Move
In the recent past, Taylor has been working with Andrew Flintoff’s coaching staff on the England Lions. With Carl Hopkinson currently part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) coaching staff in the IPL, Taylor will work with the senior squad in his absence.
“She’s one of the best in the business at what she does. 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,” said Rob Key while talking to the media.
This move continues Taylor’s remarkable rise after she became the first female specialist coach in men’s cricket after working with Sussex. She also became the first women’s coach to work with a men’s franchise team after being an assistant coach at Team Abu Dhabi in the 2021 T10 League. In 2022, she also joined the Manchester Originals as an assistant coach in the Hundred.
As far as a cricket career is concerned, the English star is regarded as one of the greatest wicketkeeper-batters in women’s cricket history. She played 10 Tests, 126 ODIs, and 90 T20Is for her national team. Taylor played a key role in helping England win the 2009 and 2017 Women’s World Cup titles as well as the 2009 Women’s T20 World Cup trophy.