Harare, Sept 16:
Zimbabwe veteran Brendan Taylor has surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the longest-serving player in men’s One-Day International cricket, achieving the landmark during Zimbabwe’s first ODI against Australia in Harare on Tuesday.
Taylor’s ODI career has now spanned 22 years and four months, taking him past Tendulkar’s career of 22 years and three months. Tendulkar had held the record since ending his ODI career in 2012.
The 40-year-old Taylor made his ODI debut in April 2004. By taking the field against Australia, he extended his career span to 22 years and 148 days, compared with Tendulkar’s 22 years and 91 days.
Taylor’s achievement comes after an unusual interruption to his international career. He retired from international cricket in 2021 and was subsequently handed a three-and-a-half-year suspension in 2022 for breaches of the ICC Anti-Corruption and Anti-Doping Codes. His suspension ended in 2025, after which he returned to international cricket as Zimbabwe prepared for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Taylor has been one of Zimbabwe’s leading batters and holds the country’s record for ODI centuries. He went into Tuesday’s match with 11 ODI hundreds in 207 matches, having established himself as one of Zimbabwe’s most experienced international players.
While Taylor has taken over Tendulkar’s record for the length of an ODI career, several of the Indian great’s major records remain untouched. Tendulkar is still the leading run-scorer in ODI history with 18,426 runs and also holds the record for the most ODI appearances, with 463 matches.
Taylor’s milestone was achieved despite Zimbabwe eventually losing the opening ODI of the three-match series to Australia by 59 runs. The record nevertheless provided a memorable moment for the veteran Zimbabwean, who has now moved to the top of the longevity list in men’s ODI cricket.