Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylor quits international cricket; signs up county deal with Nottinghamshire

Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor quits international cricket; signs up county deal with Nottinghamshire: Zimbabwe wicket-keeper batsman and former Captain Brendan Taylor has decided to quit international cricket for Zimbabwe and has signed a Kolpak deal with English county Nottinghamshire. The deal is yet to be approved by England Cricket Board (ECB) and will see Taylor out of international cricket for a period of 3 years. This means that Zimbabwe’s forth coming match against India in the 2015 World Cup will be his final ODI for his country.

29 year old Taylor was signed by Notts as a cover for Michael Lumb who has an arm injury and will be out of the county season. A Kolpak deal means that players from nations which have trading relationships with the European Union like South Africa, Zimbabwe and several in the Caribbean, can apply to play for any English county team like any English born player would do. They would not be considered foreign players, but will not be allowed to represent their nations for a period of 3 years in any form of cricket. Such deals have to be approved by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

“One of the toughest decisions of my career”, said Taylor who Captained Zimbabwe in the 2011 World Cup. The 29-year-old wicket keeper who captains the Test team for Zimbabwe further added “I have been very passionate about playing for Zimbabwe, but it’s a decision I had to make. I can’t give you that answer because it’s the first time I am going there.”

On being asked about his plans to settling in England forever, he said “I just want to go there and play some good competitive cricket and provide for my family. That’s the main thing behind it I will see how it goes the first year and then take a call.”  The financial issues plaguing Zimbabwe cricket appear to be the reason behind Taylor’s decision to quit international cricket.

English county Nottinghamshire will also be missing out on the services of two of England’s most promising batsmen – James Taylor and Alex Hales, who are likely to be on international duty during the county season. Notts director Mick Newell said: “‘Brendan Taylor, a proven player and an excellent addition to the team. We have decided to strengthen our batting order with Brendan, a proven player who will be an excellent addition to the side. Ahead of the upcoming season, we have found ourselves with two batsmen injured and face the potential loss of players to international commitments.”

Brendan Taylor is the most accomplished Zimbabwean batsman from the current crop and has played 166 ODIs, 23 Tests and 20 T20Is for Zimbabwe. Taylor has scored over 7,000 international runs. Zimbabwe have won only one of the five completed Pool B World Cup matches, against the UAE, and have already been knocked out of the tournament.