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“I can’t play cricket so I can’t dwell on it,” says a ‘positive’ James Taylor

When Taylor first came to know about his heart condition, his life was upside down. However, he revealed it was his positive persona which did not let people know the gravity of it.

© Getty Images
Taylor also gives coaching at the Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire academies since his retirement.© Getty Images

Former England batsman James Taylor, whose career ended at the age of 26 after being diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (AVRC), the congenital heart condition that afflicts one in 5,000 people, has said that though it is difficult for him not to be on the field playing, it is easier than being left out. He has come to terms with the fact that he cannot play cricket and he does not think about it much now.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Taylor also described that moment when his implanted defibrillator shocked his heart back into rhythm. “It is like being hit by a 100mph cricket ball and then putting your hand in an electrical socket. The exact feeling is like your insides blowing up because that is really what it is doing. It is electrocuting the middle of your heart,” Taylor said.

It was in April 2016 that Taylor fell ill preparing for a pre-season match for Nottinghamshire against Cambridge University and nearly died. It is then that his heart condition, where the walls in the heart chamber become thin, stretched and impact how the blood is pumped around the body and cause abnormal heart rhythms, was first known to him.

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When Taylor first came to know about it, his life was upside down. However, he revealed it was his positive persona which did not let people know the gravity of it. “People don’t realise because I have a positive persona but you can’t get around the fact how scary it is and unless someone has gone through it they will never know what it feels like when you don’t know if your heart is ever going to slow down,” he said.

“It escalates and doesn’t stop until this thing in my chest shoots me across the room, which is scary. That is the anxiety I am dealing with all the time. That is my new life.”

He has now come to terms with the condition, and is slowly picking up the pieces of his life. At the moment, he is getting to know his new body all over again. “I can do a lot more exercise than I do but I don’t trust my body at the minute. It is about learning a new body and getting a new level of confidence, which I don’t have, and it is scary when you get a setback. It is just manning up and trusting your body a little bit more.”

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He does feel he should have been there, playing cricket, instead of working for Sky Sports and Test Match Special as a cricket pundit or coaching at the Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire academies since his retirement. But the fact that things could have been far worse makes him understand the reality better.

“I get jealous when I know I should be out there doing it. I just want to be out there myself and playing. It can be tough but I suppose knowing that I will probably die if I do, (but) makes it a little bit easier. It is 100 per cent easier than being left out. I can’t play cricket so I can’t dwell on it,” he said.

Another thing that keeps Taylor busy these days is his counselling for others in similar position. He is active on his social media accounts to talk about his treatment to many who are in need. “I speak to hundreds of people on social media. I direct message them and they get in contact with me. I tell them with what to expect, and the mental stuff too. I do get bombarded and there are only so many people I can help but it is nice to know I can do something,” he said.

At the rookie camp organised by the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), Taylor has even spoken about life after cricket. “Make the most of the opportunities and you will be in a great position to enjoy a great life.”

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