James Taylor steps down from ECB as England head scout

Former English cricketer James Taylor stepped down as head scout of England’s men’s team. He joined the England Cricket Board (ECB) as a selector back in July 2018. In April 2021, he was appointed as the head scout following the abolition of selectors.

Taylor’s exit marks the latest instance of the overall revamp of the English cricket team this summer. Earlier, former player Rob Key replaced Ashley Giles as the managing director of the men’s team. Additionally, Joe Root made way for Ben Stokes to take over England’s Test captaincy. Also, Brendon McCullum became Test coach, and Matthew Mott became white-ball coach following Chris Silverwood’s exit.

On Thursday, July 9, James Taylor took to Twitter and confirmed his exit from the ECB. He wrote, “It’s been an honour to have held the positions I have with the ECB for the last 4 yrs but I’ve decided it’s time for a change. I’m excited about what lies ahead. Thank you to everyone at the ECB, who’ve been brilliant. We’ve had some amazing highlights that I’ll never forget.”

The 32-year-old former cricketer also took this opportunity to extend his best wishes to the new English management.

“I also want to wish Rob Key, Brendon McCullum and Stokesy all the very best. The win at Lords was a great start and I can’t wait to see what’s to come. Also, best of luck to Motty and Morgs with the white ball team, exciting times ahead for England cricket.”

Before his administrative stint at the ECB, James Taylor represented his national side in 7 Tests and 27 ODIs between 2011 and 2016. A prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket, he averaged 46.06 in first-class and 53.11 in List A after 139 and 136 appearances, respectively.