Former England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor has been appointed as fielding coach of England’s senior men’s Test team for the upcoming series against New Zealand, with ECB Director of Cricket Rob Key hailing her as “one of the best in the business”. Taylor, regarded as one of the greatest players in women’s cricket history, will join the England men’s setup on a short-term basis for the New Zealand series. The 37-year-old previously worked with the England Lions side under Andrew Flintoff and had also been involved with Sussex men’s team as well as Manchester Originals. Her impressive work behind the scenes has now earned her a role with the senior Test side while regular fielding coach Carl Hopkinson remains unavailable because of his IPL commitments with Mumbai Indians. Speaking about Taylor’s appointment on Wednesday, Rob Key said the ECB had been hugely impressed by her methods and coaching approach. “I just think she’s one of the best in the business at what she does. She’s been outstanding, and she’s worked a lot with Andrew Flintoff and Ed Barney (performance director). They can’t speak highly enough of her. So from what we can see, she’s one of the best in the business,” Key told mediapersons. “We’ve been thoroughly, unbelievably impressed with (Taylor) and the way that she goes about her business,” Key said. He also explained the reason behind Carl Hopkinson’s absence from the Test setup for the upcoming series. “Carl Hopkinson, as is the nature of the cricket world that we have at the moment, he’s working with Mumbai Indians. He has a lot of stuff that he does for them, so we’ll still use him at some point, just not for this series.” Taylor represented England in 226 international matches across formats during a glittering playing career and remains widely respected as one of the finest wicketkeepers the women’s game has produced. Meanwhile, England have also announced their squad for next month’s opening Test against New Zealand at Lord’s following a disappointing 4-1 Ashes defeat earlier this year. Zak Crawley has been dropped after a poor run of form, with Durham opener Emilio Gay earning a maiden call-up and expected to slot in as a specialist opener. Hampshire fast bowler Sonny Baker and Somerset wicketkeeper-batter James Rew are the other uncapped players included in the 15-man squad. Fast bowler Ollie Robinson has returned to the England setup after spending two years out of the Test side, while leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed has also been recalled. England squad for first Test vs New Zealand: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, James Rew (wk), Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue.
