TAYLOR: NOW I’M PUSHING BOUNDARIES
TAYLOR HAPPY COACHING KIDS
SARAH TAYLOR is happy. Eight months after announcing her decision to retire from international cricket, she has no regrets.
As she celebrates her 31st birthday today, it is a huge step forward for the best wicketkeeper-batter the women’s game has seen.
Despite winning the World Cup, the Ashes and being ranked the best female batter in the world, she suffered crippling anxiety.
On an idyllic tour to the Caribbean in 2013, Taylor suddenly asked to go home.
“I look back now and realise that it was a cry for help,” she said. “But I didn’t know that is what it was.
“I wish I’d had someone say to me, ‘I want you to do badly and nick off first ball and drop the easiest catch, and still know we love you’.
“I didn’t understand the concept of failure, so when I had a bad series I became consumed by my stats and my ranking and maintaining them. I ended up putting so much pressure on myself.”
It led to a break from the game in 2016 after the World T20 in India, where she had a panic attack during a game against Pakistan.
She returned to the side to help them win theWorld Cup in 2017 at Lord’s but the success was not matched off the field, leading to last year’s retirement.
Taylor has found a new home as part of the coaching and teaching staff at Bede’s school alongside former Sussex batsman Alan Wells, where her role involves both the technical aspects of wicketkeeping and also the mental side of things. “I left the game to look after my mental health,” she said. “To get back to being a bit more like me and enjoying the game that I love.
“I love my job. I put so much pressure on cricket. I wanted to pull away from the game before I resented it.
“When I reflect on retiring from international cricket, I can say it was the perfect decision.
“I said I wouldn’t be a cricket coach but here I am on this journey.
“I like to push boundaries, so to be the first female coach in the men’s game would be cool, wouldn’t it? The door is there to be kicked down.
“I’m talking with the kids about performance anxiety and things like that. Every situation they mention to me, I get it, I’ve been there and I’m helping them find their own path.
“Helping to shape young minds is something that I am absolutely loving.”