was again put on hiatus through injury, when he edged a delivery into his own eye and suffered a detached retina which put him on his back for three weeks. He nevertheless took another 63 catches from 23 appearances, but managed only 442 runs at 18.41. His batting in the County Championship saw marginal improvement over the next two seasons, with a half century in 1968 and a career best 65 in 1969. The 1969 season also saw Taylor make his first major forays into List-A cricket. He made 19 appearances that year, having made only seven others over the previous six. He only scored 180 runs, however he took 28 catches behind the stumps which would be a season best for the rest of his career. Over the winter of 1969, he was selected to tour Sri Lanka with the Marylebone Cricket Club. He played one match, on 20 February 1970, against Ceylon at Colombo. He scored 7 and 19*, and stumped Anura Tennekoon as the MCC moved to a convincing victory. Taylor returned to England for the 1970 county season, continuing his good form behind the stumps with 21 List-A and 51 Championship catches. He also snared 11 stumping victims, a career best. He toured with the MCC over the winter in Australia, with 16 more victims from four matches though his batting disappointed, with 94 runs at only 18.80. New Zealand Test debut With his experience with the MCC, and his county success behind the stumps, Taylor had been coming to the notice of England captain Ray Illingworth. Though Knott was incumbent, Illingworth rewarded Taylor's patience with a Test cap. Taylor made his Test debut against New Zealand at Christchurch on 25 February 1971. In an eight-wicket England victory, he took two catches and a stumping, but scored only four runs before being stumped by his opposite number. His quiet debut escaped any reference in Wisdens match report. He did not play another match on the tour, and would not play another Test for six more years. County interim Taylor instead returned to England for the 1971 season, improving with the bat and scoring 619 runs at 24.76, with three half-centuries and a best of 74*. He secured another 68 victims from behind the stumps across all matches. Over the winter of 1971/72, he was selected for the World Test XI tour of Australia, playing seven four-day