GORDON Taylor, who has died at the age of 80, was a Great & Little Tew stalwart for more than 60 years of his life.

Born on May 1, 1939, Mr Taylor was one of a kind at Great & Little Tew Cricket Club.

So much so, the ground now bears his name – The Taylor Oval – as testimony to his commitment to the club over the decades.

A talented cricketer in his own right, Mr Taylor played for Great & Little Tew since 1952 and captained the club for 27 years.

He also represented and captained Oxfordshire at over-50s level in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Combining his playing role, Mr Taylor was also groundsman continuously since 1956.

Even after retiring from playing the game, he spent countless hours preparing and restoring the cricket square and outfield on both the main pitch and the adjacent second ground.

His pitches earned a reputation as some of the truest in the county, leading to The Taylor Oval becoming a regular host of county cricket at both senior and junior level.

As a father to Kevin, Neil and Sarah, Gordon’s latter years were also spent watching his son playing cricket at Tew, and his two grandsons, Jack and Matt, who both fulfilled a dream that Gordon never managed to, of playing first class cricket for Gloucestershire.

Mr Taylor’s immense pride extended to watching his other grandchildren Robby, Tanya, James and George.

Tanya represented England in cross country in the Four Nations championship while Robby is also a gifted runner and cricketer.

James and George are talented footballers, and Mr Taylor was proud following his grandchildren’s sporting exploits.

In recent years, Mr Taylor had been suffering from ill health, and reluctantly had to give up his groundsman’s role.

In 2017, he was awarded the Unsung Hero award at the Oxfordshire Sports Awards, an accolade that the humble man dedicated to the countless volunteers at his club.

He remained President of Great & Little Tew Cricket Club until the end, and passed away peacefully after a long illness on Thursday, November 14, with his family by his side.

He leaves his wife Irene, two sons, Kevin and Neil, daughter Sarah, and six grandchildren, Jack and Matt, Robby, Tanya, James and George.

He also leaves two great grandchildren, Rocco and Rueben.

Tributes to the great man have poured in from the Oxfordshire Cricket fraternity.

Oxfordshire Cricket Board chairman Chris Clements said: “If Gordon had been a player in the current era, he would have played many times for Oxfordshire.”

Former Oxfordshire skipper Ian Hawtin said: “Gordon was a top man in so many ways.”

Mr Taylor's funeral service will take place on Friday, December 6, at 1.30pm at St Michael & All Angels Church in Great Tew and a private family burial at St John’s Church in Little Tew.

His son Kevin said: “Friends from the Oxfordshire cricket fraternity and beyond are more than welcome to attend the service at St Michael & All Angels and join us celebrating dad’s life at the cricket club afterwards.”