Taylor: The Latest Caribbean Pace Sensation
Jamaican Jerome Taylor Revives Memories of the West Indian Greats
Though not a world beater side for quite a long time, still the Windies have been producing world class batsmen throughout. Same can't be said about their bowlers but Jerome Taylor's has given performances reminiscent of those speed kings of the past.
International Debut After Just One Match for Jamaica
Jerome Taylor made his international debut after just one match for Jamaica in 2003 in an ODI against Sri Lanka and the same season he also made his test debut against the same opposition. He was also declared the most promising fast bowler of the Carib beer Cup, the West Indies domestic first class tournament. However, he remained out of international cricket in 2004 and 2005. A back injury sidelined him for some time but he had an outstanding domestic 2004-5 season when he grabbed 26 wickets at 16.61 in the Carib Beer Cup.
International Comeback and the Leicestershire Stint
2006 saw his return to the international arena. By the end of the test series against India that year, Taylor had established himself in the West Indies team. In the last test of that series, on his home turf of Kingston, Taylor produced a truly world class performance. Making the ball lift off good length, he grabbed nine wickets in the match.
That year saw him becoming a permanent fixture in the West Indian ODI squad as well. Taylor was the top West Indian wicket taker in the DLF Cup in Malaysia. Then he had an outstanding Champions Trophy. In the biennial tournament, ranked second only after the World Cup, his haul of 13 wickets was more than any other bowler. He was instrumental in the West Indian march to the final where they lost to Australia. In the group match against the same opposition, Jerome Taylor had already attained an immortal status in the annals of the West Indian cricket history. In Australia's only defeat of the tournament, he achieved the first ever ODI hat trick for the West Indies.
Later that year, he was the best bowler for his team in the three test series against Pakistan.
In 2007, Taylor had a taste of the English county cricket when he joined Leicestershire for the end of the season as a replacement overseas player.
Consistent in 2008
Taylor's performance was fairly consistent in 2008. He was the best Caribbean bowler in the test series against Sri Lanka and also in the two tests which he played against the world's No1 ranked side, Australia. With a first class batting average of less than 14, he can't be classed as an all rounder. But in the test against New Zealand in December, 2008, Taylor surprised every one including himself when he scored 106. Interestingly, he hadn't scored even a first class fifty prior to that.
5-11 Against England in 2009 and Sixth In the ICC Player Rankings
His very first test in 2009, against England at his home ground saw Taylor's finest perfromance till to date. In front of his home crowd at Sabina Park, the 24-year-old Jamaican had match-winning figures of 29-8-85-8, including a lethal spell of 5-11 in the second innings which saw England dismissed for 51.This effort catapulted him up 11 places to sixth spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers. This was not only his best ever rating but also the highest ever for a West Indies Test bowler since the retirement of Courtney Walsh in 2001.
Jerome Taylor enjoys the best average among the current West Indian bowlers both in tests as well as ODIs.
He might not achieve the heights achieved by the legendary West Indian pacemen of the past but he already has had some extraordinary feats.
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