Tom Taylor says he has become accustomed during his career to the ups and downs of a pace bowler, but the important thing is to always give 100 percent through good and bad times.
The Worcestershire player was unfortunate to pick up only one wicket after asking plenty of questions on day one of the Vitality County Championship match against Kent, with Joe Leach (6-52) taking the headlines.
But Taylor was finally rewarded for continuing to plug away and bowl at a good pace throughout all his spells with a vital three-wicket burst on the third evening, which once again tipped the game in Worcestershire’s favour.
It took his wicket tally to 13 at an average of 25.07 in his three Championship appearances this summer, two of which have ended in wins against Durham and Kent.
He said: “I try and just run in as hard as I possibly can everytime. Sometimes the rhythm clicks and sometimes it doesn’t.
“As long as you are giving it 100 per cent is most important. I had the late in the day spell on the third evening when you get your rewards for tireless running in.
“Maybe I could have had more wickets in the first innings but that’s sometimes the rub of the green that happens.
“Joe (Leach) said to me when he was bowling that he had bowled a lot better than he has that day and got no wickets.
“It is the funny thing as a bowler. Sometimes you can bowl really well and get no wickets and sometimes you can be a little bit indifferent and walk away with six or seven. It is what it is.”
Head Coach Alan Richardson said: “Our Strengthening and Conditioning said he was watching at close quarters and felt Tom’s 22nd over of the day was just as quick as his first over.
“That is a huge credit to Tom, and he was a huge part of the win over Kent.”
Taylor says Worcestershire will again look to adopt a positive mindset when they take on Essex at Chelmsford beginning on Thursday after the eight-wicket win over Kent.
He said: “We’ve done as much as we can control, and that’s what we are focusing on.
“We’ve had a good week this week, and hopefully, we can go to Chelmsford and put in another good performance.
“Brett (D’Oliveira) took the game away from Kent with the intent he played with and that’s something we are going to look to be like.
“We spoke about it in the T20 and the One Day Cup, where we are going to be nice and positive.
“It will be a difficult game, but every team has got its strengths and weaknesses, and hopefully, we will go there with two wins out of two, and take the confidence from that and see where we get to.”
