Former England international Sarah Taylor will play for Welsh Fire in the upcoming edition of The Hundred.
The 31-year-old, one of the best wicketkeepers of all time, was part of the English squads that won the T20I and ODI World Cups in 2009.
Sarah was recently in the news for joining the Sussex’s Men’s team as a member of the coaching staff. The veteran stumper revealed that she had a few training sessions before taking up the offer to feature in The Hundred.
“I had one (hit), and it went pretty well, I thought I’ll give it a few more goes and see how it is’. A couple of offers were on the table at the time, and once I realised I’d not lost it completely, I might as well give it a go. The Hundred is something I would love to have been a part of – last year was a bit too early, personally. But it skipped a year, and the chance to be there in the first year of The Hundred is a little bit of a no-brainer, really,” Sarah was quoted as saying by The Independent.
“I genuinely had to blow the dust off my cricket bag; it had just been in the storeroom. And I just felt back to me again. Weirdly enough, I wasn’t batting like I was when I retired. I was batting like I was when I was back in 2006 when I made my debut. I batted like I was when I was younger, and I’ve been missing that girl,” she added.
? Huge news alert! ?
Sarah Taylor will play in The Hundred! ? #WelcomeSarah ? pic.twitter.com/gk2AByFiFP
— The Hundred (@thehundred) April 6, 2021
Sarah made 226 appearances for England, including 10 Tests, 126 ODIs and 90 T20Is, before hanging her boots in 2019 due to anxiety issues. Representing Surrey Stars, she played her last domestic game in the same year against Lancashire Thunder.
The women’s edition of The Hundred begins with Oval Invincibles meeting Manchester Originals on July 21, a day before the men’s competition begins.
The ECB has invested heavily in The Hundred, a competition it hopes will attract younger audiences to the sport. Matches will comprise 100 balls per innings with a change of ends after every 10 deliveries.
The launch of the inaugural edition was postponed last year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.