Sarah Taylor comes out of retirement, will play for Welsh Fire in the Hundred

Former England wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Taylor has joined the Welsh Fire for the upcoming edition of the women’s Hundred. Taylor retired from international cricket in 2019 after battling with anxiety. She last played competitive cricket in the same year for the Surrey Stars.

The ECB has introduced the Hundred, a competition which will comprise 100 balls per innings with a change of ends at every 10 deliveries. The tournament was set to start last year, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sarah Taylor was recently in the news after she joined the Sussex's Men's team as a member of the coaching staff. The wicketkeeper revealed she had a few training sessions before taking up the offer to play in the Hundred Women's League.

"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," Taylor said as quoted by The Independent.

🚨 Huge news alert! 🚨Sarah Taylor will play in The Hundred! 🤩 #WelcomeSarah 🧤 pic.twitter.com/gk2AByFiFP

— The Hundred (@thehundred) April 6, 2021

The league starts on July 21, with the Oval Invincibles taking on Manchester Originals. The Men's edition is slated to begin on July 22.

Sarah Taylor has been a stalwart in the women's game, and is widely regarded as one of the best wicketkeepers of all time. The 31-year-old was part of the England side that won the T20 and ODI World Cups in 2009.

"Batting like I was in 2006," says Sarah Taylor

Sarah Taylor (L) last played a test match against Australia in 2019.

Sarah Taylor represented England in 10 Tests, 126 ODIs and 90 T20 games before bowing out of international cricket. The wicketkeeper is now excited about her comeback and believes she is batting as she did during her initial years.

"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," said Sarah Taylor.

Some top women cricketers, including Meg Lanning (Fire), Sophie Molineux (Trent Rockets) and Alyssa Healy (Northern Superchargers) will also participate in the inaugural edition of the Hundred.

A compilation of Sarah Taylor stumpings? Don't mind if I do...pic.twitter.com/JcgTkKR3Eq

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) April 6, 2021