The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Taylor looks to long and short of rival
England seek series charge in UAE
James Taylor has had to put up with a stiff neck after facing just 14 balls from Mohammad Irfan so far and will be perfectly happy if the same occupational hazard returns at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium today.
The height differential b e twe e n En g l a n d ’ s diminutive middle-order batsman and Pakistan’s giant left-armer means Taylor could be forgiven for wondering at times if he is about to bang his head on Irfan’s kneecaps.
But from 22 yards, 5ft 5in versus 7ft 1in has turned into a pretty even match in two one-day internationals to date.
With the series score 1-1, Taylor is able to point to innings of 60 and an unbeaten nine and can perhaps even claim to be inching the upper ground in his contest with Irfan.
Amore decisive edge will be handy as England try to sneak one up with one to play.
Taylor will be delighted to do his bit, even if it means he has to put up with a twinge of discomfort again afterwards.
“I had neck ache for halfan-hour afterwards,” he said, with a smile, as he recalled his last innings against Irfan.
The bowler’s extra height in fact suits Taylor, as a particularly strong back-foot player who feeds off exaggerated bounce which is rare on the low pitches of the United Arab Emirates.
“I quite enjoy facing the big bowlers, because it means the ball should bounce – and that plays to my strengths,” Taylor added.
“But he’s exceptionally tall and I’m pretty short so the height difference is quite funny.
“I find it amusing looking up at him and I’m sure everybody else around the ground did as well.”
Taylor knows he needs to play along with the humour.
“I haven’t suddenly become this small overnight,” he said. “I’ve been around the team for a while now, so it’s nothing different.
“He’s just an exceptionally tall bowler, so it’s always amusing when I come up against him.
“But he’s also shown what a great bowler he is as well. In these conditions, for such a big guy, it must be tough. But he’s bowled exceptionally well so far and he’s a real challenge.”
There is a significant bigger picture for England as they seek to build on Friday’s victory. “Most importantly, we’ve come here to win and, so far, we’ve won one and lost one,” said Tay- lor, who is not in England’s Twenty20 squad and will fly home at the end of this week.
Before then, on Thursday, he can expect to be named in the Test squad to take on South Africa over Christmas and the new year. That will not be uppermost in his mind while there is a series to be won.
He said: “Rather than look too far ahead and get distracted by what’s on the horizon, first and foremost, we’ve got a job to do here.
“We know they’re going to come back hard at us. It was just a delight to see the way we performed and the style with which we went about winning in the last match.”
“In these conditions, for such a big guy, it must be tough”