James Taylor might have got out when well-set during the first one-day international (ODI) match against Australia, but the way in which Shane Watson bade him farewell from the crease has encouraged the diminutive England batsman.
He was bowled advancing down the pitch, trying to hit Watson over the top.
The way Watson, who towered over the departing batsman, suggested he had somehow been personally insulted by Taylor’s attempt to play a shot that has become a staple of limited overs cricket.
Photo: Reuters
Taylor, given yet another chance to stake a claim to a place in a stop-start international career after England took the controversial decision to rest Ashes-winning batsman Joe Root from the series, took Watson’s a reaction as a back-handed compliment.
“You always want to make an in impression on the opposition, and you know you have done that when you get a send-off. They have done that a number of times, and it is always nice,” Taylor said.
Taylor’s career-best 98 not out also came against Australia in England’s comprehensive defeat by the eventual champions in their first match of the Cricket World Cup in Melbourne earlier this year.
Far from regarding the way he got out on Thursday as reckless, Nottinghamshire batsman Taylor has no plans to alter his approach.
“When I bat, and especially against a specific bowler, who is bowling into my strengths, I go for it,” he said. “I am confident with the shot, and I do not do it half-heartedly.”
“The option was there, but I just missed it — and to be fair to Watson, he tailed the ball in, and that might have been my downfall,” he added.
The England selectors’ treatment of Taylor has often been bizarre.
For example, he was made captain of the side for a washed-out ODI against Ireland in Dublin in May, only to be left out of the squad which subsequently defeated New Zealand in June.
However, Taylor said it was down to him alone to secure a more permanent place in the England side.
“I have shown glimpses of what I can do ... and it is up to me to stamp my authority on the No. 3 spot. Joe may be resting, but I want to be in this squad for as long as possible and make it as hard as possible to be left out,” he said.
“It is up to me to do that. That is why I was disappointed to not go on [at Southampton], because it was my perfect situation — scoring and controlling the innings,” he added. “When I got whispers of the team [against New Zealand], I was bitterly disappointed. I got over it quickly. I have been knocked down before and got up stronger, and that is the way I try and look at it.”
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