BRENDAN TAYLOR

Date of birth – 6 February 1986, Harare, Zimbabwe

Nottinghamshire First Class Debut – 7 April 2015 v Loughborough MCCU (h)

After bowing out of his international career with a brilliant century against India in the 2015 ICC World Cup, Brendan Taylor wasted little time in planting his name firmly into the Nottinghamshire record books.

The former Zimbabwe captain opted to leave the international scene to sample the county game for the first time and he couldn’t have made a more explosive start. He began life as a Notts batsman with a century in the pre-season match against Loughborough MCCU and followed it up with a score of 106 in the opening championship match, against Middlesex at Lord’s, making him the first ever player to score hundreds in his opening two first class matches for the county.

Further three-figure scores followed, with 103 coming against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl and 152, made at Taunton against Somerset, helping lift Brendan beyond 1,000 first class runs for the season, made at an average of 35.66.

His wicketkeeping prowess made him, along with Riki Wessels, a solid replacement when Chris Read was absent behind the stumps and with consistent performances with the bat in both white ball formats, he already looks to be a solid acquisition amongst the Trent Bridge ranks.

A veteran of 23 Tests, 167 ODIs and 23 T20 internationals, Brendan’s presence at the top of the Nottinghamshire batting order should continue to serve the county well in 2016.