THE HEART AND SOUL OF JAMES TAYLOR
‘Tich’ tells his story
Sports writers and commentators are fond of using the heart in their descriptions – phrases like ‘whole-hearted’, ‘heart-in-mouth’, and ‘hearty cheers’ crop up regularly – but for the audience at the October meeting of the Nottingham Cricket Lovers Society (NCLS) it was the heart of one ex-player that held the room.
At 26, James Taylor had the cricket world before him. A regular in the England Test and One Day squads, a trophy winner with his first county, Leicestershire, and now with Nottinghamshire, he was readying for the new season.
Then during a pre-season friendly at Cambridge University, he felt his heart racing. “I could see my shirt fluttering with the pounding of my heart”, he told his audience.
His story was one of drama, tension and peril – a far cry from the review of cricketing careers and highlights that is the usual fare at Cricket Society meetings.
“I had no idea what was happening to me”, he added, “and no idea that this meant the end of my time as a professional sportsman”.
Taylor explained that he recovered sufficiently from that first attack to be driven back to Nottingham. Then, “My heart was racing again”, he said, “and I was rushed to the Queens Med hospital.
“The staff there were fantastic and probably saved my life – next time you’re fretting in A&E with a minor injury, try to remember that the reason your treatment is delayed is that somewhere else in the hospital, someone’s life is being saved”.
After many more alarms and investigations, it was confirmed that James Taylor had been diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC), a congenital heart disease that can be fatal, especially if the patient undertakes, ‘strenuous physical exercise’.
“I had to come to terms that my sporting activities were over and that life would never be the same again”, he said. “My heart now has its own defibrillator fitted – effectively screwed to the bottom of my heart.
“That’ll be there for the rest of my life”.
James Taylor paid tribute to the support he had received from his family and from his then girlfriend, now wife, as he tried to make sense of his new circumstances.
He regularly insisted throughout his talk that he was ‘lucky’ – to be alive, to have had such a full career in cricket, and to have found new ways to stay involved with the game since his enforced finish to his playing days.
Since that fateful day in 2016, Taylor has worked in broadcasting – doing cricket commentary and punditry – been an England selector and, most recently, has returned to his first county, Leicestershire, as part of their coaching team.
His time at Leicestershire has coincided with an upturn in the county’s fortunes, winning the One-Day cup in 2023 and this year, 2025, securing promotion to the top division as Division Two Champions.
“I’m not supposed to get stressed or over active”, he laughed, “but when we won that cup in 2023, I was leaping into the arms of Alfonso (Thomas, head coach) …then I thought I’d better calm down!”
Ironically, that first cup triumph for more than thirty years came at Trent Bridge, his home ground at the time of his heart attacks.
Being involved with cricket has eased the transition from player to ex-player but the need for a more leisurely sporting activity has led him to golf. “I can play golf almost as a hobby”, he said, “I’m not pushing myself like I would have at cricket.
“It’s a great way to stay active without putting my heart under pressure.”
James Taylor played cricket for Leicestershire through all the age groups and was fortunate to go to Shrewsbury School where cricket was a major part of his education.
It was whilst playing for Shrewsbury that he had his first taste of cricket at Trent Bridge. “We were playing Harrow in a schools competition final at Trent Bridge”, he recalled with glee, “and I hit a six off the penultimate ball to win the match!”
It was to be many years before what he mischievously called ‘the second best cricket ground’ before hastily correcting himself became his home ground. He was Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year in 2008 and the Cricket Writers Club Young Cricketer of the Year in 2009, in which year he was awarded his Leicestershire Cap, and moved to Nottinghamshire in 2012.
He arrived at Trent Bridge with one England ODI cap and was selected for his first Test in August 2012, making his debut against South Africa at Headingley.
“I’ll always remember walking out to make my debut”, he said, “As I made my way to the middle there were loads of encouraging cheers, but the closer I got to the middle, the more those cheers turned to laughter.
“I was walking out to join Kevin Pietersen – all 6ft 4in of him – and there’s me, barely 5ft 4in!”
‘Tich’ Taylor grinned as he told NCLS, “…my Dad was a jockey, so I guess I get my height from him.”
He might be one of the shorter players to talk to NCLS but, as the sports commentators could well say, James Taylor is surely one of the most ‘big-hearted’.
Nottingham Cricket Lovers Society meets monthly in the close season, usually on the third Thursday of each month. Membership for the 205/26 season is £20, joint membership £30 and visitors £10 per session.
The full programme of meetings and visiting speakers is available on the NCLS website - https://nottinghamcricketlovers.co.uk/
October 2025