‘It’s sad’: Peter Taylor laments first SCG Test spin snub in 138 years
The former Australian spin bowler and selector says Test cricket in Australia is all the poorer for the decline of slow bowling opportunities on grassy pitches, on the day the home side snubbed specialist spin at the SCG for the first time since 1888.
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Former Australian spin bowler and selector Peter Taylor has declared Test cricket in Australia is poorer for the decline of slow bowling opportunities on grassy pitches, on the day the home side snubbed specialist spin at the SCG for the first time since 1888.
In 1987, Taylor delivered one of the most storied debuts in Australian cricket history, winning an Ashes Test match on an SCG pitch that was ideally united to his art.
Peter Taylor during his Test debut at the SCG in 1987.Credit: Peter Rae/Fairfax Media
In 2026, Taylor was on hand to see his fellow off-spinner Todd Murphy left out of the side, the fourth time in Australia’s past six Tests they have ignored spin.
“It’s sad. As a principle in Test cricket you want the long game, and spinners are so important to the long game,” Taylor told this masthead as a guest of Cricket NSW in the Steve Waugh Room on day one, 39 years after his Test debut here. “If I was Steve Smith I’d like to have a quality spinner.
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“It’s the coming together of a whole heap of things. Fast bowlers do take more wickets than spinners in Sydney, but it’s nice to have the option when the wicket gets a bit low and slow.”
Taylor served as a national selector for two summers in the 1990s when Shane Warne was at his best, pitches were dry, and the inclusion of a second slow bowler – Tim May or Peter McIntyre – was often considered.
“To me the fundamental formula of a balanced cricket team has not changed,” Taylor said. “Even if you go to Perth or the Gabba, it’s still nice to have that option. As a selector we always tried to have that – three quality fast bowlers, a spinner and a good allrounder. That really should be enough to win a game.
“But if you don’t have the spinner, it’s one more thing you can’t do. I’m watching this game and thinking halfway through this session and we haven’t taken a wicket, wouldn’t it be nice for the captain to have a spinner. Even if it’s not going to turn square, it’s just a change, and you need to have that balance.”
In January 1987, Taylor’s famous Test debut at the SCG was a high point in a poor summer for Australia. Paired with wrist spinner Peter Sleep, Taylor took eight wickets and made a determined 42 in the second innings as Allan Border’s team won a thrilling game with one over remaining. That sort of contest is the kind that CA’s commercial wing, , would like to see return.
