Page "Mark Taylor (cricketer)" Paragraph 31

Taylor played his best cricket of the summer in the Third Test at Sydney.

Last man out for 49 in a total of 116 in the first innings, he defied a pitch that had begun to seam and swing after a shower and cloud cover as Australia narrowly avoided the follow on.

In the second innings, he made a bold attempt at chasing a world record target of 449 by scoring 113, but Australia played for a draw after Slater and Taylor fell following double-century stand.

Australia collapsed to 7 / 292 before hanging on in near-darkness.

In the final two Tests, he scored half-centuries as Australia won 3 – 1.

Australia dramatically lost the Fourth Test when England led by only 154 on the final day with four wickets in hand.

Aggressive lower order batting saw Australia set 328 in just over two sessions, but a heavy collapse saw Australia eight wickets down with more than hours to play.

Almost two hours of resistance later, England took a 106-run win late in day.

However, Australia bounced back to win the Fifth Test by 329 runs, the largest margin of the series.

Taylor's partnership with Slater yielded three century opening stands at an average of 76. 60 for the series and Taylor's individual return was 471 runs at 47. 10.