At his best, West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor was a seriously devastating fast bowler, capable of raining down sudden and complete destruction on the opposition’s batting. He developed considerable skill and commanded rapid pace, and it was so from the time he was very young.

He was only around 10-years-old, the story goes, when he approached his father one day, delivering himself most importunately, suggesting that he was now ready for a place on the local cricket team that the senior Taylor captained. Deciding to indulge his son, he brought him along to the next practice session and handed him the ball. The result: three wickets in his first three deliveries, all bowled. It would have been four in four, too, for the batsman was hit dead in front, but there was no umpire to adjudicate leg-before decisions.

Taylor went on to star for his high school St Elizabeth Technical in Jamaica, producer of international cricketers, such as Daren Powell and Nikita Miller, and made his first-class debut in February 2003 against the Windward Islands at Sabina Park. Disappointingly wicketless in his first game — clearly the victim of nerves — he was dropped for the next two, but returned for the encounter against Guyana at Bourda where he collected only one wicket, though he bowled well.

The next game was against Trinidad and Tobago at the Queen’s Park Oval, and those fortunate enough to witness the Jamaican pacer’s performance in the second innings spoke about it for a long time. From 20.5 overs he snatched eight wickets for 59 runs, seven of them bowled or leg before wicket (lbw). Bowling at high pace, he was particularly proficient at bringing the ball startlingly back into the right-hander. Based on that performance many predicted a long and fruitful international career.

Taylor first played for the West Indies in a One-Day International (ODI) at Arnos Vale, St Vincent, against Sri Lanka, taking 2/39 runs off his 10 overs. He made his test debut nine days later at the Beausejour Stadium (now the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground) in St Lucia against the same opposition. He was only 18.

Injury, illness, and indifferent form and fitness meant that his appearances for the West Indies were mostly sporadic, though he had a consistent run after returning from injury in 2014, and prior to him retiring from Tests in July 2016. While he has bowled outstandingly well on occasion, his performances have been, at best, spotty. There was a hat-trick against Australia in 50-over game and there were five-wicket hauls against India, Pakistan, and Australia.

But the wily fast bowler who destroyed Trinidad and Tobago early in his first-class career had only rarely been in evidence, and only rarely did everything come together for the 6’1” Jamaican.

One memorable day at Sabina Park, however, everything clicked. He ran in hard, bowled rapidly, and exhibited exemplary control of direction and movement.

It was June 7, 2009, and the first Test of the 2008/2009 series against England had reached its fourth day. The West Indies had responded to the visitor’s first innings score of 318 with 392, the innings closing before lunch. And though nobody would have dared imagine it at the time, that rather measly lead was to prove insurmountable.

England might have been a little worried at the break. They were already 11/2 after Devon Smith accepted a catch at slip from a ball that Taylor slanted across Alastair Cook, then Ian Bell, middling everything beautifully as is his wont, went caught behind off Sulieman Benn, carelessly attempting to cut a wide delivery. Still, there was no indication of the mayhem that was to unfold because, with so many high-quality wickets still intact, England would have been confident of staging a recovery.

First ball after the break, Kevin Pietersen, who had missed a first innings century by just three runs, had his off stump uprooted by a peach of a ball from Taylor. Full and heading toward mid-stump, it swung away wickedly late, evading Pietersen’s outside edge, sending the stick cartwheeling. It was a delivery that would almost certainly have defeated any right-hander of any era, no matter the form he was in.

That wicket, especially, triggered an eruption by the crowd. This was a scene that recalled the days when the great pace attacks ran rampant, sending batsmen ducking and stumps flying. It was the kind of scene those in attendance had not often seen since those heady days, and, whenever they had, it was more likely the West Indian batters who’d be at the receiving end.

Andrew Strauss had laboured 69 minutes over nine runs when Taylor urged a good length delivery to slightly leave the left-hander and graze the edge of his defensive bat. Wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin completed the dismissal.

There was more jubilation and dancing in the stands when the obdurate Paul Collingwood was undone by a delivery that snaked wickedly back into him to disturb his leg stump via his inside edge. Not realising his predicament, he hurried up and down the pitch, and it took his partner, Fred Flintoff, to gently point out that his bails had been dislodged, so he was out and had to return to the pavilion.

Matt Prior lasted just four deliveries. He was sent on his way courtesy of a well-camouflaged slower ball, effectively a fast off break, that made its way between bat and pad to remove his off stump. Failing to make contact with the delayed delivery at the point he expected, the batsman pushed out farther still, opening a gap through which the ball sneaked. Michael Holding, doing TV commentary at the time, was so impressed that he went on and on about the dismissal.

At that point the innings stood in ruins at 23/6. Taylor, in the spell of his life, had taken 5/11 in 7.5 overs. It was fast bowling of the very highest class.

He completed the over, bowled another, a maiden, before being removed from the attack, apparently due to injury. Fidel Edwards and Sulieman Benn then wrapped up the innings for 51, which meant that England were defeated by an innings and 24 runs.

A cricinfo panel voted Taylor’s effort the best bowling performance in Tests for 2009.

All this time there was a gentleman seated in the George Headley stand who seemed somewhat sombre amid all the bedlam. Observed complaining under his breath, he related the source of his troubles when prompted by a fellow spectator. It turns out that, upon seeing the game tantalisingly poised at lunch, and expecting an exciting conclusion to the game next day, he went to the ticket office and purchased a number of fifth-day tickets for himself, members of his family, and a few friends. He was worried that he might not be reimbursed.

Garfield Robinson is a Jamaican living in the US who writes on cricket for a few Indian and English publications. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or garfield.v.robinson@gmail.com.