Worcestershire all-rounder Tom Taylor has been praised for the “sterling contribution” he has made during the second half of the season as he prepares for Tuesday’s Vitality County Championship encounter with Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl.
Taylor is part of a 13 strong squad as Worcestershire look to collect the maximum of nine points required to secure Division One cricket for the 2025 season after last summer’s promotion.
The 29-year-old missed the opening seven Championship games of his first season at Visit Worcestershire New Road after being injured in a Seconds game while taking a catch off his own bowling.
But since regaining fitness he has made his mark in all formats of the game and demonstrated the qualities that impressed Worcestershire before he signed a four-year contract until the end of the 2027 season.
His 23 wickets in five Championship appearances have been a big factor in securing wins over Durham, Kent and Essex and the draw with Warwickshire plus providing invaluable runs down the order.
Worcestershire Head Coach, Alan Richardson, said: “We knew about Tom in terms of the skill sets that he shows with bat, ball and in the field and it is good he is making contributions as much as he is.
“Had he been available for the first seven Championship games, no doubt he would have helped us along the way.
“We had Jason Holder, we had Nathan Smith, but it would have been a case of we could have rotated a little bit more.
“As it was, we had to push guys a little bit more than we would have liked and that takes its toll further on in the season.
“Thankfully having Tommy back for the second half of the season has worked really well for us.”
Richardson added: “A first season at a new club is always testing and challenging, but he has fitted in brilliantly well and made a sterling contribution.
“He has bowled fantastically throughout and has got his rewards with his career best (against Warwickshire) which we are looking forward to celebrating at some stage!
“Tom first innings spell was really inspired. Two or three weeks ago, he bowled beautifully against Kent and took two wickets in the game.
“We said then ‘his time will come’ and against Warwickshire that was a crazy 45 minutes but thoroughly deserved for Tommy.”
Club Captain, Brett D’Oliveira, echoed Richardson’s sentiments about Taylor who was the only fit experienced seamer for the Metro Bank One Day Cup and played a big role in the Rapids reaching the quarter-finals.
He said: “When we signed Tommy, I was really excited about it, the capabilities that he has got with the bat and the ball.
“That is coming to the forefront now. He definitely got us in a position to be able to go on and win against Warwickshire with that spell of bowling on day three, a career best which was recognised in the dressing room as a great achievement.
“I thought he bowled an outstanding length all game like he did in the Kent game when he didn’t get the rewards he deserved.
“I said in the team talk that I’m really grateful he has got those rewards because it just shows all the hard work he has put in to get into this position.
“He is a very level character, he doesn’t over think too much, he does the basics really well. I think he has done that over his career, and particularly in this little period at the minute.”
Richardson says the way Worcestershire have overcome challenging positions to post sizeable totals, as demonstrated in recovering from 10-4 against Essex and 67-4 versus Warwickshire, has been a key factor.
He said: “We knew it was going to be a challenge playing in Division One and the attacks are very good. But we’ve stuck at it brilliantly well and given ourselves a chance to put some good totals together.
“A big thing for us is batting the whole way down, valuing our wickets, valuing the partnerships, keep cherishing those as much as we can. We need guys to contribute all the way down and they have continued to do that.”
Richardson insists the focus will remain solely on Worcestershire and their own performances despite being so close to guaranteeing Division One status.
He said: “I’m going to sound really dull but we talked about if before this block of games that the performances are really important.
“The boys and I were really pleased with this performance against Warwickshire and we can’t control the weather and we can’t control what other sides do.
“We’ve got two more games and the attitude will not change. I think we have played some really good cricket in these first 12 Championship games and, if we can continue to do that in the last two, we will be really happy with our season.”
All-rounder Joe Leach will return to make his penultimate appearance for the County before retirement after being rested against the Bears.
New Zealand pace bowler James Hartshorn is also in contention after missing the Warwickshire game with an injury niggle.
WORCESTERSHIRE (SQUAD):
Brett D’Oliveira ©
Jake Libby
Gareth Roderick (w)
Kashif Ali
Rob Jones
Adam Hose
Matthew Waite
Ethan Brookes
Logan van Beek
Tom Taylor
Joe Leach
Amar Virdi
James Hartshorn
