Yorkshire captain Gale leads tributes to Taylor

Describing Taylor as “one of my best mates in cricket,” Gale said that both himself and the Yorkshire players were “shocked and saddened” that Taylor had been forced to call it a day.

Taylor, who played seven Tests and 27 one-day internationals, and who made his Test debut at Headingley in 2012, has a similar condition to the one that affected footballer Fabrice Muamba.

Muamba’s heart stopped for 78 minutes while playing for Bolton Wanderers against Tottenham in 2012, and Muamba tweeted his own support to Taylor, saying: “Having life is a great option. Retirement is inevitable but for some of us it’s just earlier than expected. Enjoy life.”

Gale, who went on two England Lions’ tours with Taylor, and who struck up a firm bond with a man affectionately known as ‘Tich’, told The Yorkshire Post: “I’m shocked, really sad.

“I had two winters touring with ‘Tich’, and he’s a terrific player and a top, top lad.

“I’m particularly saddened because I know how hard he’s worked on his game, on his fitness, and how he’s had to prove his critics wrong just to get into the Test and one-day team.

“He’s got there, and now it’s all been taken away from him.”

News of Taylor’s condition – Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Arrhythmia (ARVC) – is exacerbated by the fact that he is enormously popular throughout the game.

Messages of sympathy have poured in from far and wide for a man who missed Notts’ pre-season fixture against Cambridge MCCU last week with what was initially thought to be a viral condition.

“The Yorkshire lads are all shocked,” added Gale.

“A lot of them have been on Lions tours and England tours with ‘Tich’ and spent a lot of time with him.

“He’s a very infectious character, a likeable lad, and we almost see him as an adopted Yorkie, if you like.

“I nagged him for a couple of years to come and sign for Yorkshire, but it never worked out like that.”

Gale texted Taylor as soon as news broke of the player’s enforced retirement, while Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon spoke to his opposite number at Notts, Mick Newell.

It is a measure of Taylor’s likeability that the cricket family were swift to rally round a man who had scored more than 9,000 first-class runs at an average of 46.

“Martyn spoke to Mick Newell, and he said that they’re lucky that they caught it (the condition),” added Gale.

“It’s a positive, at least, that they’ve caught it before anything more serious happens and that they can treat it now.

“It just goes to prove that there’s more to life than cricket, and it certainly puts things in perspective.

“For a young lad of 26 he had a fantastic record, and he had just started to cement his place on the international scene.”

Taylor, who will shortly undergo an operation, also took to Twitter to say: “Safe to say this has been the toughest week of my life! My world is upside down. But I’m here to stay and I’m battling on! #lifestooshort”.

Newell, who doubles up as an England selector, spoke for everyone in the cricketing world when he said: “Myself and all of James’s team-mates and colleagues are terribly sad to hear this news, which comes as a big shock to us all.

“He is a model professional, the most hard-working I’ve ever known in cricket, making it all the more difficult to accept that his career has been cut short in this way.

“It goes without saying that he has the very best wishes of us all in terms of recovering from this operation, and that we are looking forward to seeing him back at Trent Bridge when he is fit and able.”

Yorkshire are on course to achieve their best Test match ticket sales for four years.

The club say they have also experienced an increase in sales for the game against Sri Lanka starting on May 19 after England’s performance in the World T20.

Less than 300 tickets remain for day three of the Test, while more than 70 per cent of tickets have been sold for day two.

There was no play on day two of Yorkshire’s three-day universities match against Leeds-Bradford MCCU at Headingley due to rain.

The students are 225-8 in their first innings.