Cut Short

by James Taylor, John Woodhouse, Jonathan Agnew (Foreword)

JAMES TAYLOR was born in Burrough on the Hill, Leicestershire, in 1990. A sporting phenomenon from an early age, he chose to forge a life in cricket, establishing himself as one of the country’s leading batsmen and an England regular.

And then tragedy struck.

In April 2016, a serious heart condition left Taylor fighting for his life in the changing room. Told he faced possible death if he played cricket, or exercised, ever again, James’s bright and brilliant career was over at the age of 26.

In Cut Short, Taylor reveals his route to the top. On the way, he describes how he encountered prejudice against his size and how his Test debut was overshadowed by the negative attentions of Kevin Pietersen. He takes us through the highs and lows of his international career, including a century against the Australians and a closeup view of the unsavory nature of David Warner.

With the world at his feet, Taylor reveals just what it was like to have sporting ambition snatched away right at the point of international breakthrough. He relives in breathless detail the horrific events of the day he thought he was going to die and his desolation at watching a fine sporting career torn from his grasp.

The aftermath was a battle bigger than any he ever encountered on the pitch, a battle to rebuild his life and make sense of the personal bombshell with which he had been afflicted, and, unexpectedly, a battle for his future. At the same time, he was getting used to a body which, on several occasions, left him fearing for his existence.

That James has emerged from these dark days with courage, good humor, and renewed ambition is testament to a remarkable personality.

Cut Short is the story of a true never-say-die character.

185 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2018

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting book as james taylor details his cricketing career until he suffered a life threatening diagnosis and the book is inter linked with his cricket journey and his medical journey

[Alan Draycott · Rating 4 out of 5]

With auto biographies I have to remember to separate my respect for the individual with my view of the book. This book is mixed. Unlike most cricket biographies, Taylor hasn't played much cricket so he has to pad it out. There are chapters on post cricket (poor) , a chapter by his wife (unnecessary) drinking (boring) and there is quite a lot of pages on his school cricket (interesting). Taylor appears to be really honest, actually too honest and I think he will regret this book when he looks back on it in future years. He is of course that breed of entitled sporting public school boy who expects to be at the centre of everything. When he is, the world is great, when he isn't he just can't believe it and tells us. As he gets older and the guild of entitlement falls further he will believe it more. At times he is almost astonished when he is considered arrogant but in 15 years he will be able to see he was at least to some extent. That said that arrogance has led to a very honest account of his years. His writing on KP is absolutely fabulous. The only problem being is that KP will doubtless never consider reading anything from such a bit part player as Taylor. His honesty does mean though we get to feel what it is like to be on the edge of a team. I've no doubt Taylor would have made a pretty good test player (more Randall than Gower) . Let's hope he can look beyond Public School boys as a selector. If he does, and he remains honest, then maybe his next book will be worth reading he can tell us why some are kept on the edge and how tough it is to make those calls.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very honest account and is very fair in its criticism of the ECB and its approach to looking after players. It is really quite shocking that after what happened to Patrice Muamba that absolutely rigorous processes for testing young players wasn’t put in place.

I’ll admit I found a lot quite hard to read. I have a phobia of foreign objects inside the body to the point where I can’t have a cannula so what he has had to put up with has given me nightmares!

[Paul O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge cricket 🏏 fan and have read autobiographies, and this is up there with the best, definitely recommend this to any cricket fan it's about so much more than cricket. It's a real shame James Taylor wasn't allowed to reach his full potential as a cricketer, but what a man, a great lesson in how to overcome the toughest hurdle, and count your blessings.Valuble lessons to be learnt from this book. Good luck for the future James.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written interesting account of everything he's been through

[Timothy Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story of a talented cricketer whose career was all too brief but very badly written. 'I trained my tits off'- what sort of phrase is that ?! Did the book's editor miss this ?!

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know anything about cricket, but I know a lot about ARVC. It was helpful to read an account of the exact same thing I have been through. I found myself putting the book down when he described being defibrillated and going to the hospital because it reminded me so much of what I have experienced.