Peter Laurence Taylor (born 22 August 1956) is a former Australian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played in 13 Test matches and 83

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

s between 1987 and 1992. He became a Test match selector for Australia in the late 1990s. Taylor was a part of the Australian team that won their first world title during the

1987 Cricket World Cup The 1987 Cricket World Cup (officially known as the Reliance Cup 1987 for sponsorship reasons) was the fourth Cricket World Cup. It was held from 8 October to 8 November 1987 in India and Pakistan – the first such tournament to be held outsid ...

Domestic career

His initial selection for Australia in 1986–87 came after only a handful of games for

NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

was a huge shock. It was initially thought that his more known New South Wales colleague Mark Taylor had been selected. He was dubbed ''Peter Who''? by the media. Taylor played for New South Wales in the

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...

between 1985 and 1990 and played two seasons for

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

(1990–92)

International career

He justified his selection with a stunning 6/78 on debut against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at Sydney. He however was unable to repeat such a feat again in his test career (12 more matches between 1987 and 1992). However Taylor became the staple spin-bowler of the Australian One Day team of the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was able to bowl his off-spin with economy and pick up vital wickets in matches. He was also a good fielder and an able lower order batsman. He played 83 times taking 97 wickets between 1987 and 1992, appearing in both the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and the 1992 World Cups. Taylor was noted for his deliberate approach to the wicket and the rhythmical nature of his bowling action that involved him first swinging his bowling arm, joining hands as he swung forwards then completing a loop of his joined hands before delivering the ball. He was noted as a heavy spinner of a cricket ball and comparisons were made with

Ashley Mallett Ashley Alexander Mallett (13 July 1945 – 29 October 2021) was an Australian cricketer who played in 38 Tests and 9 One Day Internationals between 1968 and 1980. Until Nathan Lyon, he was Australia's most successful off spin bowler since Worl ...

, also a former Australian spin bowler.

References

Notes

External links

Ashes One-hit wonders – ''The Guardian'' 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Peter Australian cricketers 1956 births Living people Australia Test cricketers Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut Australia One Day International cricketers Cricketers at the 1987 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1992 Cricket World Cup New South Wales cricketers Queensland cricketers People educated at Barker College Cricketers from Sydney 20th-century Australian sportsmen