William Taylor (cricketer)

William Thomas Taylor (14 April 1885 — 17 August 1976) was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1905 and 1910.

Taylor was born at Wirksworth, Derbyshire the son of Walter Taylor of Fern House and his wife Alice. His father was a manufacturer of artificial fertilizer.[1]

Taylor made his Derbyshire debut during the 1905 season, against Nottinghamshire but made little impression. In the 1906 season, he played a match during a West Indian tour of England, when he took two wickets, one of them being of Lebrun Constantine. Taylor was recalled during the 1910 season, playing two games, in which he was able to keep up his consistency between Test cricketer Arnold Warren and pre-war Derbyshire representative Frederick Bracey. Taylor was a right-handed batsman who played 8 innings in 4 matches with a top score of 11 and an average of 7.57. He was a right-arm medium-pace bowler and took 2 wickets at an average of 28.[2]

In 1908 Taylor became secretary of Derbyshire County Cricket Club, a post he still held in 1953 when his History of Derbyshire Cricket was published in Wisden.[3]

Taylor died in Breadsall at the age of 91. His brother, Francis Taylor, five years his junior, also played first-class cricket for Derbyshire although they never played in the same match

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