Taylor targets former teammate as T20 World Cup co-hosts converge

By Daniel Beswick

There will be an extra spice at the Kensington Oval on Friday night as Steven Taylor takes guard against the West Indies in their Super Eights T20 World Cup meeting on Friday.

With the Americans pressing on in their tournament push, Taylor has friend and former teammate Akeal Hosein in his sights, potentially facing off on the same ground the pair developed their friendship.

Taylor and Hosein, the World No.2 T20I bowler shared the Barbados Tridents (now Royals) dressing room across 2015 and 2016 seasons, and when asked as to who he wanted to take on, Taylor threw the left-arm orthodox spinner's name out even before the question was finished.

“(He’s a) good friend of mine. We played Tridents together in the CPL for two years.

“I know most of his tricks, so for sure I'll be hunting him first of all.”

Described as one of the most gifted players to ever come through the USA national team system, Taylor has been a prevailing name on senior American scoresheets for the best part of 12 years.

A key figure of USA’s rise through the old World Cricket League Divisions and T20 World Cup qualification pushes, Taylor has shown glimpses of his class at this year’s T20 World Cup, blazing a quick-fire 24 in USA’s chasing effort against South Africa in Antigua alongside his occasional off-spinning contributions.

An identical score on a tough pitch against India also gave mainstream cricket fans a peek of his capabilities, and a knock of note against fellow co-hosts at the top of the order would give his nation a chance of causing yet another tournament upset.

With Caribbean roots, Taylor admits he sang Rally ‘Round the West Indies in his head when the teams met at the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, but has serious sights of knocking off the men in maroon as an opposing player.

“At the end of the day I'm playing representing my real country where I was born and grown and I just hope that we can come over the line against West Indies”

“We came close (at last year’s 50-over Qualifier).

“We gave them a fight at the end of the day and we know that we have a chance of beating them once we play good cricket on the day.

“We're playing good cricket and the team is gelling well together and at the end of the day we know that we're going to be the underdogs for all teams that we played against in the Super Eights.

“We're just here to play good cricket and if we win, we win. If we lose, we lose.”

In a tournament where his team has made headlines in US sporting discourse and around the world, the dizzy heights of a T20 World Cup are a far cry from hairy moments in US national team cricket over the years.

Only a 13-run win defending just 145 in 2017 at World Cricket League 3 in Uganda saved Taylor and the American side from relegation to Division 4, and a sliding doors moment likely back into cricket obscurity.

Seven years later, the 30-year-old has taken the chance to reflect on the journey to the game’s summit, playing at a T20 World Cup co-hosted by his nation of birth, and shared by a region of his family’s roots in the West Indies.

“It's actually a great feeling being a co-host of the World Cup itself, playing games in our hometown (Miami, Florida), people actually chanting your name Taylor, or Jesse (Singh) or Aaron (Jones), people who were actually born in the USA.

“And to play cricket in your hometown, at a World Cup, is the biggest stage of life.

“It would never get better than that.”