James Taylor: 'I thought I was going to die'
Former Shrewsbury and England cricketer James Taylor has revealed he thought he would die from the serious heart condition that forced him to end his professional career.
Taylor was last month forced to retire from his successful cricketing career after being diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC).
The 26-year-old, known as Titch, has spoken out for the first time since calling time on his career and said he believed he was close to death.
He said: "I had my usual morning nap, and then did the warm-up.
"Towards the back end of the warm-up that's when my chest started getting tight. Apart from being tight my heart was beating at a million miles an hour.
"We were doing just a couple of routine catches and throws.
"My heart was going wild at a funny rhythm. It was probably only about four degrees, really cold, and I got inside. Sweat from me is hitting the ground hard. So I knew I wasn't right.
"And that's when I thought I was going to die."
The symptoms kicked in ahead of a pre-season match for his county, Nottinghamshire, at Cambridge University in the first week of April.
The resulting diagnosis came as a complete shock to Taylor, who said he had no previous indication there was anything wrong, and believed he was "mentally and technically" the best he'd ever felt leading up to the season.
Now, instead of taking part in key England matches, Taylor has been forced to wear a black box with a long shoulder strap wherever he goes, and his exercise is limited to walks.
The defibrillator is attached to a life vest worn under his shirt – there to save his life if needed.
Taylor said: "If my heart goes into the rhythm and the pace that it went at when my first kind of attack happened then this will go mental, put it like that.
"It will siren, it will talk to me. If I'm conscious I can manually stop the shock that will hit me and I will get to hospital as soon as I can.
"But if I'm passed out on the floor then it will kick in and give me a huge electric shock and bring me back to life as any external defibrillator will do if needed."
He hopes to be able to have a defibrillator surgically fitted inside his body in June, but has accepted that he will no longer be able to play cricket professionally.
He said: "I think that's been the hardest bit.
"When the doctor told me, I was in hysterics at first.
"But then he told me that the majority of these cases are only found out in the post-mortem.
"I almost stopped crying at that point and felt more lucky that I'm in a position to tell this story now."
Taylor has praised NHS staff since his ordeal, which saw him at Nottingham City Hospital for 16 days. He said: "They did save my life and that's a fact. Nobody really appreciates what they do in the NHS.
"They constantly get slated and almost bagged in the press. Until you've had an experience where your life can be taken away from you, you don't realise what they actually do.
"And the way they looked after me and catered for me at my time of need when I was going to die was unbelievable."
He added: "And I owe so much to them and I will continue to support them in any way I can."
Taylor, who turned out in the Birmingham League for Shrewsbury, played the first of his seven Tests against South Africa in 2012. He was part of the England team that won famously against the same opposition last winter.
He was also Shrewsbury Cricket Club's contracted cricketer and had played a number of games for the club over the last two years.
Taylor was awarded the Young Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year for his 898 runs for Shrewsbury School in 2008, at an average of 179.60.
The middle-order batsman also played 27 ODIs and was captain for England's trip to Ireland last May.
He said: "I will desperately miss not being able to play it but I do really enjoy helping people in any way that I can, so fingers crossed I'll be involved in some way."
