Brendan Taylor

Brendan Taylor — full name Brendan Ross Murray Taylor — is a Zimbabwean cricketer whose career has spanned two decades and encompassed all formats of the game. Born on 6 February 1986 in Harare, he burst onto the domestic scene at just fifteen, scoring a double‑century for Mashonaland A and quickly earning a place in a national side that was rebuilding after a player exodus. Making his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in April 2004 and his Test debut a month later, he became one of the youngest ever to wear the Zimbabwe cap, praised for his elegant upper‑cut and inventive ramp shots that have become his signature. Over the years he amassed more than 6 600 ODI runs at an average above 35, including a record‑tying 11 centuries that eclipsed Alistair Campbell’s tally, and he captained the side from 2011 until the 2015 World Cup. His aggressive style produced historic back‑to‑back ODI centuries against New Zealand in 2011 and again in the 2015 tournament, as well as twin Test centuries against Bangladesh in 2018, making him the first Zimbabwean to score centuries in each innings of a Test on two separate occasions.

Beyond his batting, Taylor has kept wicket, bowled occasional off‑spin, and represented franchises across the globe—from Wellington in New Zealand’s HRV Twenty20 Cup to Nottinghamshire in the English County Championship, and several Bangladesh Premier League teams. His 433 runs at the 2015 World Cup set a new Zimbabwean record for a single tournament, and his performances earned him nominations for ICC ODI Player of the Year. In 2022 he publicly disclosed a forced involvement in a spot‑fixing scandal, resulting in a three‑and‑a‑half‑year ban that sidelined him until his return to Test cricket in August 2025. Despite the controversy, his statistical legacy—over 9 600 first‑class runs, more than 130 ODI dismissals as wicket‑keeper, and numerous match‑winning innings—cements his status as one of Zimbabwe’s finest modern batsmen.