Taylor proving he is a jack of all cricketing trades

CALLUM Taylor may be a batsman by trade, but it was his bowling that did the talking for Wales MC in the opening round of the Unicorns Championship.

The off-spinner took 11 wickets, including 7-16 off 12.3 overs in the first innings, but rain prevented them from beating Shropshire – who were hanging on at 36-6 following on.

After Wales posted 315-9, Australian spinner Taylor destroyed Shropshire’s lower-order in their first innings – skittling them for just 77 in 35 overs, in what he described as his greatest day on a cricket field.

Taylor, from Queensland, first played club cricket in England last season for Newport and has aims of a cricket career – and after this display, there is no doubt scouts will flock to see him.

“In Australia I am more of a batsman than I am a bowler, that is how people see me,” explained Taylor. “But here, it is the opposite, I am a bowler who can bat.

“I know I can bat fairly well, but the bowling is coming out so well. I think last year at Newport I went into a batting side that was very strong, so I was lower down to start with and was more of a spinner.

“But now I want to show everyone I can bat just as well.

“It was a really good week with Wales; I had the backing of all the boys and Darren Thomas, the captain, but did not expect to do as well as I did.

“It was very exciting. It was my debut for the threeday team and it just came out perfectly.

“The pitch helped a lot, I was not bowling any bad balls. It was one of those days when everything went well.

“It is the best day I have ever had on a cricket field. It was a little disappointing with the rain, I think with another we could have got a result.

“In the end, we could not get the win, but the way we went about it was really good.

“I am trying to build a career out of cricket, so this is a big moment.”

All the games across both conferences ended in draws, thanks largely to the weather, although Dorset top the Western Division with 12 points following their dominant display against Devon before the rain arrived.

In the Eastern Division, Lincolnshire and Suffolk sit joint top on 12 points, ahead of Herefordshire and Norfolk.