Nottinghamshire have announced the death of Ken Taylor, their former cricket manager and president. He was a hugely influential figure at Trent Bridge in the 1980s, during the victorious Clive Rice and Richard Hadlee era. He was 85. Kenneth Alexander Taylor was born in London in 1916, and made his name as a talented batsman playing club cricket for North Middlesex before joining Warwickshire in 1939.

He had to wait until after the Second World War - in which he served as a commissioned officer in the army and fought on the Normandy beaches - to make his debut in the County Championship, and remained at Edgbaston until 1949.

Taylor moved to Nottingham to work for the Electricity Board, and played for Notts Forest CC. He was also a keen footballer who played at a good standard until he was 50. He became a member of the Nottinghamshire committee in 1963 but resigned in 1979 when, at the age of 62, he became one of the first fulltime cricket managers.

During his spell in charge Notts won the County Championship in 1981 - their first title for 52 years - and again in 1987. They also won the NatWest Trophy in 1987 and the Benson & Hedges Cup in 1989. Taylor continued as manager until 1990, when John Birch succeeded him, and later served as president for two years.

Albert Bocking, Nottinghamshire's president, said: "Together with Clive Rice and Richard Hadlee, Ken was at the centre of all the success in the 1980s. He was simply a great man-manager who had the ability to assemble a talented group of players, many of whom were internationals, and form them into a winning unit. He was never afraid to upset individual players if he felt it was in the team's best interests.

"Ken's contribution may not have been appreciated outside of Nottinghamshire as much as it might, but he was certainly highly regarded by the club and members. He was an extremely popular man who will be greatly missed and on behalf of everyone at the club I would like to extend my sincere condolences to Ken's wife, Joan, and to his family."

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