James Taylor recalls two short‑leg catches that decided a Test in Johannesburg a decade ago

James Taylor recalled pulling off two catches at short leg in Johannesburg a decade ago that helped England win a Test against South Africa, and he described the experience and the position’s danger while speaking from Arizona.

Out in Arizona, just south of Tucson, Taylor set the scene for what players call “Boothill” — the fielding spot directly under the batter’s nose where any full‑blooded sweep or pull can send the ball into a fielder’s body. “I always loved it in there because you’re right in the thick of the action,” says the former England batter James Taylor. “There’s plenty of people that – excuse my language – shit themselves when they go in there. But I was very fortunate that I didn’t have that fear, I wanted the ball to come to me, be hit at me.” Taylor was trying not to wake his three‑month‑old son, who was “conked out in a papoose strapped to his old man’s chest,” the article notes, adding a mention of BabyBjörn straps.

A decade ago Taylor took two catches at short leg in the space of half an hour, a pair of dismissals Graeme Smith described on commentary as “two of the most sensational catches I’ve ever seen on a cricket field.” Smith added: “I don’t think you’ll ever know how tough that is,” immediately after Taylor’s second grab to dismiss Dane Vilas. Taylor’s first catch removed Hashim Amla, who had timed a front‑foot flick off Stuart Broad; Taylor remained low, a few paces deeper than a regular short leg, and caught the ball millimetres above the turf in an action that unfolded in 0.4 seconds.

Taylor said the two grabs paid off after specific practice: “It’s very rare in any sport, that you practise something really hard the day before and then it pays off straight away,” says Taylor. He had spent hours rehearsing that exact low‑to‑the‑toe catch with England’s then assistant coach Paul Farbrace, who would deflect balls at high pace off a boxer’s sparring pad down at Taylor’s toes repeatedly. On the aesthetics of the two catches Taylor added that “the Vilas catch that happened a few overs later looks better as I’m diving but actually the Amla one is the better catch because it came faster and lower.”

Dane Vilas relived his dismissal good‑naturedly: “Let’s say I played that clip off my hips 1,000 times in my career, 999 times it’s going for runs. I couldn’t believe this little guy caught it.” Vilas later reflected on the match as his final Test contribution: “That was my last shot as a Test cricketer,” says Vilas. “I never played another.” The piece notes Vilas subsequently made “some of the happiest memories” of his career at Lancashire, where he became club captain.

Taylor’s physical profile and early preference for close‑in positions feature in his account: at 5ft 6in and nicknamed “Titch”, he says he often put himself into short leg even when captaining at school. The article contrasts that stereotype — the smallest or youngest player being placed there — with examples of senior players who have relished proximity to the bat, such as Ricky Ponting at silly point and Tony Greig using his 6ft 8in frame to fold himself down and stare into a batter’s eyes. Taylor described the closeness of the role: “It was intense in there. You can see when a batter is struggling and is scared. There’s a lot of eye contact. You hear exactly what the bowler is saying in his follow through. I’ve been in there when Jimmy Anderson has being going hard at a batter. You’re thinking: ‘This is really spicy and I’ve got front‑row tickets.’”

A few months after the South Africa tour Taylor was forced to retire from professional cricket at the age of 26 after being diagnosed with an incurable heart condition; he later spent four years in selection roles at the ECB and is now the assistant head and lead batting coach at Leicestershire. Taylor still values the memory of that day’s catches: “To have those moments of pure elation … to be lucky enough to get two of them that day, just that feeling inside …” He pauses and then adds, “I’m not really an emotional guy ... but to have that feeling, like I can almost feel it now just talking about it. It was one of the last games I ever played. It’s special. Really, really special.”

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