Mark Taylor - for the love of the game and the way it should be played - fair and square!

Border. He went through the doldrums of the early to mid 80's and ended up laying the foundations for the later dynasty

If you are respected by the opposition this mean you are Great!! Very will respected by the ppl around the cricket world.

Agree with you I think people forget that Taylor played in a very strong era when the quality of bowling was much higher then now and the pitches offered more for the bowlers . T he fact he used a much heavier bat then other batsmen probably didn't help him either . Best captain I've ever seen

I thought he was a brilliant captain and very underrated. He was much better than Waugh as a tactician in my opinion

Glad to know that.. i observed sometimes that Steve would run outta ideas.. never saw Mark run outta ideas thought.. his field and tactical changes were always a step ahead of batsmen.. i think you can see shades of his style even in Warne's captaincy (the way he outthinks a batsman..) .. wat say??

Go back and watch the 95' series vs the Windies. it's one thing to have these bowlers at your disposal but another to know when to use them.

Not sure the best ever. But def. the best that I have seen. Tactically brilliant. Intuitive, calm and always ahead of the game. And most importantly attacking always.

Some commentators (not in this video) say that Mark was one of the best tacticians in the game. This field placing, declarations, toss decisions were better than his contemporaries and successors. According to his teammate Michael Bevan, he was more easily approachable than his successor Steve Waugh, because Waugh spoke less as a captain.

Please, one of the greatest slips fielders of all time. Among Australians, probably only Simpson and Mark Waugh are comparable.

Rob's description is right on the money. I feel that too much has been made of Tubby's form slump. Class is permanent and this man defines class on a cricket field. I mean that in EVERY way which is perhaps more than I can say for most other players.

Yup. Was the perfect man for Australia after Border. Pushed that side further than border probably would have. In turn, Steve Waugh and his all out attacking, took them to a position in the history of cricket that Taylor may not have got them too. On his batting, Taylor has become lost amongst all the great batters that have played in past 20 years. So many greats in that time.

Can't agree Rob. Mere stats not good enough. Both Steve and Ricky fed off the side that Mark Talyor built. I think Australian team played the most attractive cricket under Taylor. Warnie's captaincy sort of resembled Tubby's style

Always a joy to watch

thanks for this !

yes Taylor was much better than Steve Waugh. Supreme tactician.

which is most familiar to see ? c Taylor b Warne c Healy b McGrath c Gilchrist b McGrath

funniest part is:the only reason that he still was captain during that slump was: he was a very astute captain (Warnie's fave as well ;) ) AUS had in long time, not afraid to take risks & try new things ...

Richie Benaud was Australia's best ever captain, but behind him, you'd have men like Harry Trott, Ian Chappell and most certainly Mark Taylor. All of them were intuitive captains who could read the patterns of play and make things happen.

I really rate him very high as a captain.. robelinda2 .. do u think he was a better tactician than Steve waugh.. i certainly do.. would like to know your take.. ?

@dumbfcks Would be 1) Frank Worrell 2) Taylor 3) Imran and then others for my money. Superb batsman, a revolutionary captain and perhaps the best slip fielder I've seen. Australia's dominance in world cricket owes a lot singularly to three great Australians - Border, Taylor and S.R.Waugh.

Loved when Taylor was induced as captain, a brilliant communicator and excellent tactician, just found him a little too relaxed in his approach, which I thought Steve Waugh rectified magnificently. Waugh was in my opinion the best captain ever, made moves at the right time, was aggressive, made the very most out of players, stood up whenever his team needed him to, broke records willy nilly, absolute top of the heap for me.

All west indians favourite opposing skipper

Harsh judge Bobby!

2 champion trophies 2006 in India and 2008 in south africa

All right. To deal with semantics, I was referring to 'best' as in reference to a player's holistic cricketing ability. Yes, he was an excellent slipper. Not one of the 'best' players.

@vindaisatossermini MARK TAYLOR - HONORARY WEST INDIAN!

He played the likes of akram very well but struggled against ambrose...on the other hand steve waugh didnt fare well against akram but played well against ambrose

You'd pick Taylor on his captaincy alone...

Please refer to the first sentence of your original post.

agree, Ponting is often (or always) underrated as captain. Taylor was a pathetic one day captain, Ponting was probably the best one day captain ever, people cant use the McGrath/Warne excuse because Ponting won many ODI tournaments without them. Like steve Waugh, Ponting was aggressive in test cricket with his captaincy, sometimes it didnt come off. Always was brilliant to watch both Aussie teams under Waugh & Ponting, and people want to be entertained and they sure were.

steve waugh 72% win percentage. greatest ever

Mark Nickolas takes himself too seriously

Greg Chappell is entirely comparable. And since when has greatness as a fielder been an overly-going concern as to your overall legacy? Is Colin Bland considered one of South Africa's all-time greats? No. Ditto Jonty Rhodes.

Ponting is a much better captain. Won a series against every test playing nation and won 2 world cups and 1 champion trophy. :P :P :P inb4 ashes loss haters

Nowhere near any 'best' list any cricket-knowledgable person would make. As a batsman - decent, not great. As a captain - good, but with two of the greatest bowlers of all time at his disposal. I could have captained a side with Warne and McGrath to a good measure of success.