Former USA captain Steven Taylor eyes West Indies spot

Slowly but steadily, former captain of the United States of America, Steven Taylor, has landed a contract with Jamaica Scorpions in the CWI Professional Cricket League on Friday. The 23-year old is one step closer to represent the West Indies as he secured a contract with one of the West Indies regional teams. It was later announced that as one of the ten protected players for the franchise.

Taylor was born and brought up in Florida but his roots lie in Jamaica as his parents migrated to the USA from the Carribean Islands. Coincidentally, he also made his debut against Jamaica in 2010, when he was just 16 years of age. He also featured in the Carribean Premier League of 2015 as part of Barbados Tridents. Taylor was then retained next year under a $3000 rookie contract offered to players from USA or Canada who had represented a combined ICC Americas squad in the WICB Regional Super50.

Brief history of Taylor

Steven Taylor had publicly stated about his goal to play for West Indies. In order to remain with Barbados Tridents in the CPL, he withdrew himself from USA’s squad at the World T20 Qualifier back in 2015. The opening batsman has spent several years representing Florida offseason and playing club cricket in Jamaica in a bid to break into the franchise team. His efforts paid off in January when he was included in Jamaica’s 50-over squad for the 2017 Regional Super50. He worked his way into the regular line-up and made a strong impression in the semi-final win over Trinidad & Tobago, striking 88 off 71 balls.

Although his primary skill is batting – Taylor is already USA’s all-time leading scorer in T20 cricket and fourth all-time in one-day cricket – he has developed himself into a handy offspinner since giving up wicketkeeping in 2015. After taking over the senior team’s captaincy, Taylor has bowled himself regularly and took two five-wicket hauls for the USA last year, including 5 for 32 against Uganda at the WCL Division Three in May, that helped his side secure a 13-run win and avert relegation.