Paul Adrian Taylor was born on 6 March 1939 at East Kirkby, Nottinghamshire and played for Notts in first and second team games between 1956 and 1959. He was a left handed batsman who also bowled left arm fast-medium.
Taylor first made his debut appearance for Notts against Middlesex in 1958 in the County Championship when he took 1-36 in 12 overs and made 5no in the first innings and 9no in the second innings; Middlesex won by 2 wickets.
He played a further five matches in the Championship for Notts, scoring a total of 34 runs at an average of 6.80, with a high score of 13 achieved against Glamorgan. He also took seven wickets at 47.85; his best bowling was 2-82 against Essex. His last wicket was perhaps his most illustrious, clean bowling Surrey and England captain and star Peter May on a typical (for those days) Trent Bridge 'feather bed'...to be fair, May was on 163 at the time!
Paul began his career at Notts with appearances for the Second Eleven in the Minor Counties Championship; against Lincolnshire at the Steetley Company ground in Shireoaks, he took 5-45. He continued to play for the Second XI until June 1963 when his last match - against Leicstershire at Ashby-de-la-Zouch - was rained off.
Paul Taylor has also played for the Sporting Alfas, a team of, mainly, ex-pats and visitors based at the Woodbridge Oval in Albir, the seaside resort of L'Alfàs del Pi, in the province of Alicante on the Costa Blanca in Spain. He has had great success there – six times First XI leading wicket taker in a season and second overall as a bowler with 236 wickets. The Sporting Alfas play visiting and nomadic touring teams including, in 2009, an MCC XI that had one-time Trent Bridge player Jonathan Wileman in its ranks.
June 2020
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 423