BULAWAYO – Zimbabwe’s experienced top-order batter Brendan Taylor described his return to the national team after four years as ‘a debut-like feeling’, stating he was honoured to play again.
Taylor, whose last international appearance for Zimbabwe came during their away ODI series against Ireland in September 2021, called time on his professional career the same year.
He later made startling revelations in early 2022 that he was approached by fixers, who threatened to expose his drug addiction if he did not fulfil their demands.
The right-handed batter instead announced his retirement and entered rehabilitation when the International Cricket Council (ICC) imposed a three-and-a-half-year ban for his failure to report the corrupt approach promptly.
Brendan Taylor then set up a coaching facility in his home in a bid to land a coaching role upon the conclusion of his ban, but Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) MD Givemore Makoni convinced him to come back as a player with the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 approaching.
Consequently, the 39-year-old was named in Zimbabwe’s playing XI for the second Test of the two-match home series against New Zealand, underway here at the Queens Sports Club.
Taylor, while speaking to the broadcasters ahead of the first day’s play of the aforementioned fixture, recalled dealing with the sanction and his internal chaos, traumatic and ‘incredibly difficult’.
“How good is it that three years ago, I couldn’t get out of bed and now I am here doing what I love, and that’s representing Zimbabwe? Dealing with the sanction, dealing with my own internal chaos – there was not a specific day, there were multiple days of trauma,” Taylor shared.
“I was in the dark depths in the abyss and trying to just get through this total and incomprehensible demoralisation of life. It was incredibly difficult,” he continued.
The 39-year-old thanked his friends, family and several ZC officials, especially MD Makoni, for helping him during his rehabilitation process, which he described as life-changing.
“Then came the joys and promises of recovery, something that is very dear to me. Getting my life back on track is the reason why I am able to be here. If I had not made that life changing decision, none of this would have been possible,” Taylor continued.
“There have been some very important people in my corner, showing me a new way to live and I am eternally grateful for that. There are a few people in Zimbabwe Cricket that I have to thank, especially the chairman and the MD, who have been absolutely pivotal in their support to having me back,” he added.
When asked to specifically describe his feeling on being handed his 36th Test cap, Brendan Taylor termed it a moment of gratitude and emotion, stating he trained harder than ever for his comeback match, which gives him a ‘debut-like feeling’.
“[It] meant the world to me. It was a moment of pure gratitude and real emotion to be welcomed back with open arms,” Taylor said.
“It was not the reaction I was expecting. But it’s certainly a moment of reflection and real gratitude. It’s so rewarding to see the amount of cricket Zimbabwe Cricket is putting out there. I have trained harder than I have ever trained in my life to get back there. If performances happen, that’s great but there’s a much bigger picture here for me to play. It’s an honour to play again. It’s a debut-like feeling.”
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