Taylor boosted by ‘five-for’

Jerome Taylor, the Jamaican pacer who has returned to first class cricket after prolonged injury, says he is confident he can perform better than the effort that earned him a five-wicket haul against Guyana.

Twenty-nine-year-old Taylor, absent from cricket for over two and a half years due to a back injury, ended with five for 44 against Guyana in Jamaica’s first round WICB Regional Four-Day game.

His impressive bowling helped Jamaica to a seven-wicket win over the Guyanese at Sabina Park on the final day of the match, on Monday.

“I am really happy at this present time, although I still think I can do better than whatever performance I come up with,” said Taylor, in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

“It is a work in progress and at the end of the day I ended with five wickets, so I will just keep doing what I have to do.”

Set 88 for victory, the hosts easily reached their target with Nkrumah Bonner striking 38 and opener Horace Miller, 29.

Taylor has so far taken 218 first class wickets in 68 matches, including 12 five-wicket hauls.

“Being away from the game for such a long time and coming back with a performance such as this, I can’t complain,” said Taylor, whose last appearance for the West Indies was in 2010.

“Hopefully, the performances here will take care of me getting back onto the regional team, and if the selectors require my assistance in the West Indies set-up then I will grab it with both hands again.”

The Jamaican pacer has also represented Kings Punjab XI and the Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League (IPL), as well as the Stanford Superstars.                                                         

—CMC