Taylor Has the Personality to Win Over Sporting Hearts

Just three years ago Claire Connor, at the time the biggest name in women’s Cricket, retired from the sport after an ongoing ankle injury.

Connor had just led England to an Ashes victory in 2005, breaking a 42-year record without a win over Australia.

The allrounder brought cricket to the forefront of the minds of the nation, but were soon eclipsed later that summer by the men’s team, who regained their own version of the Ashes after a baron 18-year period.

Far too many women sports live in the shadow of their male counterparts, but Connor did her best to increase the popularity of the sport, while her media profile endeared herself to all cricket lovers.

When Connor retired there was a fear that women’s cricket would again be on the slide, but just like before her there’s a new girl on the block, and her talent alone is already taking the cricket world by storm

Her name; Claire Taylor and to date she is the only player in women’s cricket history to be named one of Wisden’s five cricketer’s of the year, and it doesn’t end their.

In 2006 after a difficult start in international cricket she eclipsed Sir Viv Richards’ record one-day score at Lords by scoring 156 and for the next three years preceding that score she was nominated for ICC women’s world player of the year.

Last year she became the joint highest century maker in women’s one-day cricket and in the same year she was ranked number 1 batsman in the world, a title she still holds today.

This year has been the crowning achievement for Taylor however as she was named player of the tournament at a victorious women’s world cup after top scoring in the tournament, averaging just under 65.

At the 20/20 world cup she was again influential in another England win, averaging 46 throughout the tournament.

And finally she was part of the same team that regained the Ashes on Monday, to complete a third major win of the year for this record-breaking women’s side.

Taylor has been intrinsic to the side’s constant improvement, and her quality with the bat in particular has seen the attentions surrounding her swell.

Her talent was fully on display in the semi-final of the 20/20 world cup as she hit a match winning 76 not out against Australia, a pressure filled innings on the biggest stage of them all.

After winning back the Ashes in 2006 Connor received an OBE for her achievements, while the rest of the side went unnoticed.

The male side however all received MBE’s after their Ashes victory, including Paul Collingwood who appeared in just a single test at The Oval.

Now there’s no doubt that the team wouldn’t have kicked up a fuss about the whole debacle, but many in the media and cricketing world saw it as an unwarranted snub to women’s cricket and women’s sport.

Taylor will be setting her sights however on another award however, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

It’s the time of the year where the contenders start to stake their claim, and even with the men’s side fighting for their own Ashes surely Taylor’s achievements can’t be eclipsed.

Now I’m not here to predict how the rest of our British athletes will get on this year, but to not see Taylor in the final ten would be yet another deliberate snub to women’s cricket, I mean what else does she have to do?

Connor did extremely well to boost the appeal of women’s cricket while she was captain and now three years on support from the ECB is even more extensive, maybe now the coverage and recognition given to their biggest stars will finally be replicated.