Lady physios and masseurs have been associated with various men’s teams in international cricket for long, but never has any woman been part of the coaching staff.

In a watershed moment, former wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor will be England’s
fielding coach during their upcoming Test series against New Zealand. She is the first woman to coach an England senior men’s side in a major sport.

Taylor, 36, played 226 times for England Women between 2006 and 2019 and is rated highly.

“She’s one of the best in the business at what she does,” said Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket. “She’s been outstanding, and she’s worked a lot with Andrew Flintoff and (performance director) Ed Barney. They can’t speak highly enough of her.”

Taylor was once described by Adam Gilchrist as the “best wicketkeeper in the world”, irrespective of gender, and was the first woman to play men’s first-grade cricket in Australia when keeping for Northern Districts in Adelaide. It is widely accepted that she would have been totally at home taking the gloves in men’s first-class cricket.

Since retiring, she has embarked on a career in coaching, and has worked with Flintoff’s England Lions since 2024. She has also spent time working at Sussex and Manchester Originals (now Super Giants) in The Hundred.

Amid accusations of the set-up being too slack, England did not have a fielding coach on their staff in Australia during the Ashes, something that came under intense scrutiny when they dropped catches at crucial times. Taylor’s appointment is being seen as an attempt to regain ground in Test cricket following the drubbing Down Under. More than ground fielding, catching has been an issue with the men’s side.

But Taylor is not one to bask in the limelight and prefers working from behind the scenes.

“I still am not someone who wants the limelight, I just want to be good at my job. That’s how I want to go about my coaching really,” Taylor said on BBC Sport last winter.

“I love being a trailblazer but without the attention. I want to see how far I can go, and work with some of the best players that I can.”

There’s no doubt she will face immense scrutiny and her coaching career will depend on how the players perform on the field.

England’s first Test against New Zealand begins at Lord’s on June 4.