Sarah Taylor first-ever woman fielding coach for England men’s cricket team

Former England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor, one of the greatest to have graced the women’s game, has been appointed fielding coach of the senior men’s Test team for the upcoming series against New Zealand, ECB’s Director of Cricket Rob Key announced on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old Taylor, who played 226 matches across formats, has also worked with the England Lions (England A) team under Andrew Flintoff, and her impressive performance there has earned her a promotion to the senior team’s support staff.

Taylor has also worked with the Sussex men’s team as well as Manchester Originals and has been offered a short-term contract as fielding coach with Carl Hopkinson, who is on IPL duty with Mumbai Indians.

“I just think 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 (performance director). They can’t speak highly enough of her. So from what we can see, she’s one of the best in the business,” Key told mediapersons on Wednesday.

“We’ve been thoroughly, unbelievably impressed with (Taylor) and the way that she goes about her business,” Key said.

“Carl Hopkinson, as is the nature of the cricket world that we have at the moment, he’s working with Mumbai Indians. He has a lot of stuff that he does for them, so we’ll still use him at some point, just not for this series.”