Steven Taylor

Meanwhile he continued to score bucket-loads of runs at U19 level for his country, including a record 140 off 120 balls against Papua New Guinea. It wasn’t long before he commanded a regular place” at the top of the order for the senior side, where “the runs also began to flow. People began to speak about him in superlatives “The greatest talent to ever come out of the U.S.”, “The best Associate level batsman in the World” etc. there was certainly a compelling case to be made for each declaration. He had all the attributes. He was naturally tall and powerful from a young age, and seemed to have a nonchalant ease at the crease which is often a hallmark of great players. He also has a sound cricket brain, not unsurprising given he was playing men’s club cricket at 8 years of age and his father was an umpire on the ICC Americas Panel. All the while, Taylor, the kid, kept impressing on the field.

In 2012, he was selected to play a couple of exhibition matches in Pakistan for an International World XI. He was named player of the series, mostly for his exploits with the ball, demonstrating that he was far more than just a batsman. In 2013, at just 19 years of age, he became the first U.S. player to ever score a century in Twenty20 International cricket, with 101 off 62 balls against Bermuda in the ICC World Cricket League Americas Division 1 T20 tournament. He had come within one shot of achieving the feat 4 days earlier when he had scored 95 off 58 balls against the Cayman Islands. The poor Cayman Islanders may have felt they had dodged a bullet on that occasion, however two days after scoring his hundred against Bermuda, Taylor and the U.S. team lined up against Cayman again, this time he scored 127 not out from only 62 balls.

His ridiculous run of form in 2013 didn’t stop there. The USAs next assignment was the World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Bermuda. In the opening match of the tournament against a strong Nepal side Steven Taylor smashed 162 from 102 balls. It was as if he was scoring runs for fun.

In one sense he was. In speaking with Taylor about the success he enjoyed in those early years, and with the power of hindsight, he acknowledges that he played with a freedom and care-free attitude that is a luxury afforded young players who are just beginning their careers. By his own admission, Taylor has matured a lot in the intervening years. The volume of runs from Taylor’s blade has not been as torrential since those heady days of 2013, but he feels he has become a better all-round batsman and cricketer. He credits former coach of the USA, Robin Singh as crucial in helping him address and correct a few technical aspects to his game.

Taylor is still a young man at just 23 years of age, but is one of the most experienced players on the U.S. team and has recently taken on the job of team captain. He says that the feeling within the group is positive, and that for him personally the pressure to have to score runs in every match is not there like it was in the past because of the strength of the current squad.

In a moment of candor Taylor admitted that since he was a youngster, all the way through until recent times, he felt that if he didn’t score runs then the team would lose. This is by no means an arrogant statement, as the statistics back him up. However, it must have been a burden on the young man at times. But in true Taylor style he simply shrugs his shoulders.