Chris Taylor To Take Gloucestershire To Court

Chris Taylor To Take Gloucestershire To Court

Chris Taylor in action for Gloucestershire against Yorkshire in 2008.

©Action Images / Scott Heavey

Outgoing Gloucestershire batsman Chris Taylor is to take his former employees to an employment tribunal following the news that the 35 year-old has failed to agree a contract extension with the club.

The main reason for the failure to reach an agreement was the rejection of the club’s plans for ground redevelopment at their Bristol headquarters, which were turned down by the city council last month. His contract for 2012 was dependent upon the plans getting the go-ahead.

However, it appears that Taylor thinks the club have done him a disservice and hampered his chances of extending his first-class career by keeping him waiting. His cause is likely to be advanced by the fact that Gloucestershire have managed to sign former Middlesex batsman Dan Housego – as well as secure the services of former Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for their Friends Life t20 campaign – since planning permission for the ground redevelopment was turned down; thus rather undermining their argument that is was financial pressures alone that meant they had to let Taylor go.

Gloucestershire chief executive Tom Richardson said of the right-hander’s departure, “We agreed and signed a conditional contract with Chris dependent on our ground development going ahead," said Gloucestershire chief executive Tom Richardson. "Unfortunately, the planning permission we sought was turned down and therefore we have not been able to complete this agreement. We would like to thank Chris very much for his years of service and wish him all the best for the future."

Overall, it is a sad episode; one that is made even more so by the amount of time that Taylor has spent with the club. He played for Gloucestershire Young Cricketers as far back as in 1994 and had a prolonged spell for their Second XI before making his first-class debut in 2000.

His achievements with the club make impressive reading. In 159 first-class matches for the club, he has scored over 9000 runs at an average of 35, and showed no sign of letting up last season; hitting 1139 runs at an average of 40.67 on difficult Bristol pitches to lead their promotion push.

His limited-overs CV is even more impressive, as he was part of the Gloucestershire’s trophy winning era at the turn of the century where they won seven one-day trophies in the space of five seasons. He has also captained the county, in 2004 and 2005, and was awarded a benefit year in 2009.

Always an outstanding fielder, he has also been employed as the club’s fielding coach – a role that he now fulfils with the England Lions – and one which may give an indicator as to where his future career may lie.