Mark Anthony “Tubby” Taylor

Mark Anthony “Tubby” Taylor (born 27 October 1964 in Leeton, New South Wales) was an Australian cricket player and Test opening batsman from 1988-1999, as well as captain from 1994-1999, succeeding Allan Border. He was widely regarded as an instrumental component in Australia’s rise to Test cricket dominance, and his captaincy was regarded as adventurous and highly effective. However, he was considered less than ideal for one-day international cricket and was eventually dropped as one-day captain after a 0-3 drubbing at the hands of England in 1997. He retired from Test cricket on 2 February 1999. In 104 Test matches, he scored 7,525 runs with a batting average of 43.49, including 19 centuries and 40 fifties.

Highlights of his career include 809 runs against England in the 1989 Ashes series (helping Australia to a 4-0 Ashes win), and equalling the Australian record score of 334 against Pakistan in 1999 (Taylor declared the innings closed with his score the same as the record set by Sir Donald Bradman, although, unlike Bradman, Taylor was not out). Both of these records were subsequently surpassed by Matthew Hayden’s then-world record of 380 in 2003.

He was named Australian of the Year in 1999.