Thomas (Tom) Taylor (18 October 1753 at Ropley, Hampshire – April 1806 at Alresford, Hampshire) was a famous English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played for the Hambledon Club. He is generally regarded as one of the most outstanding players of the 18th century. A famous all-rounder, he made his debut in 1775 and played till 1798. He played mainly for Hampshire but also made a number of appearances for

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

at a time when the county had a first-class team. It was said of Taylor (see Haygarth and Nyren in particular) that he was an "admirable" cover field and a strong thrower. As a batsman, he was a great hitter but "didn’t guard his wicket well enough" and had a tendency to cut at straight balls "like Beauclerk later". He was also an effective bowler and took many wickets, though we don't know what his pace was. Nyren commends Taylor on his fielding and says he was one of the best ever seen. In August 1786, Taylor and Tom Walker scored the third and fourth known first-class centuries in the same innings for White Conduit Club v Kent at Bourne Paddock. Taylor made 117, his highest known career score. Thomas Taylor made 105 known first-class appearances from 1775 to 1798. Taylor was another cricketing innkeeper. He had the ''Globe Inn'' at Alresford.

References

* ''Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket'' by

G B Buckley George Bent Buckley (1885 – 26 April 1962) was an English surgeon and a celebrated cricket historian and an authority on the early days of the game. Buckley was born in Saddleworth, Yorkshire, the son of Arthur and Jane Buckley, his fathe ...

(FL18) * ''The Dawn of Cricket'' by H T Waghorn (WDC) * ''Scores & Biographies, Volume 1'' by Arthur Haygarth (SBnnn) * ''The Glory Days of Cricket'' by Ashley Mote (GDC) * ''John Nyren's "The Cricketers of my Time"'' by Ashley Mote {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Thomas English cricketers Hampshire cricketers English cricketers of 1701 to 1786 English cricketers of 1787 to 1825 1753 births 1806 deaths People from Ropley Hambledon cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers White Conduit Club cricketers Left-Handed v Right-Handed cricketers East Kent cricketers Colonel C. Lennox's XI cricketers Hampshire and Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers