James Taylor: England batter speaks 10 years after heart problem ended his career aged 26

Taylor’s retirement was announced six days after the initial incident but he remained in hospital for three weeks.

He was told his condition, similar to the one which affected footballer Fabrice Muamba, was usually only revealed post-mortem.

“I had a round table with a load of cricket media and journalists and they mentioned all my hard work, graft and what it took to finally cement my place in an England team and honestly, I just burst out crying in front of them all,” Taylor says.

“It had meant so much to me, it meant so much to so many people and that really, really hurt, not being able to do that any more.”

In the years after his retirement, Taylor channeled his professional juices into golf, becoming a scratch player within three and a half years.

He also worked as a commentator for Test Match Special and then became a selector with England in 2018.

“At that stage, I just wanted to do things that I enjoyed and that I could make a difference in,” he says.

“It was an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down.

“I felt like I could make a difference and ultimately we did, we had a great time becoming number one in the white-ball game and winning the World Cup [in 2019], we were also tasked with winning Tests away from home which we did.”

Taylor stood down in 2022 after director Rob Key, who had just appointed Brendon McCullum as Test coach, implemented a new structure.

“Of course, [the job] is stressful,” Taylor says.

“If you don’t have the right process when it comes to decision-making, and if you let emotion get in the way or you’re not being honest or communication is poor, that makes it hard and that can be stressful.

“But if your process is as good as it can possibly be, it does make things easier because you’ve done everything you can to make the best-informed decision.

“You’re dropping and hiring players in the elite end of international sport but you’re working with great people and I was making the right decisions at the right time in my head, so I could sleep at night.”

These days Taylor is an assistant coach back at Leicestershire, where he became the youngest batter to make 1,000 County Championship runs in a season in 2009.

He has an internal defibrillator, has medication for his heart issue and tries to keep stress to a minimum.

“Like if my football team loses, it’s not the end of the world to me,” he says.

“I try to have fun with what I do and I don’t get too het up and bothered about things.

“I wish I was more passionate about things sometimes and that I could get more riled up about things but I just don’t, and I’ve learnt not to and that I can’t.

“I guess I’ve just taught myself to be more laid-back.”

Armed with that mindset, Taylor and Leicestershire are back in Division One for the first time in 22 years this season after being promoted.

He also points to the help he gained from speaking to friends and family at his most difficult moments.

“I have lived a great life over the past 10 years when I shouldn’t have, and I’ve been so lucky, and I am extremely grateful for the experiences,” he says.

“I’ve trusted some great people who have allowed me to get things off my chest which is so important because physically we can’t control what happens to us, but mentally we can, and it’s so important to speak to people you trust instead of battling with yourself.”