Brooks leads Yorkshire revival as Taylor returns to Trent Bridge

Nottinghamshire 261 (Mullaney 78, Brooks 4-74, Rashid 3-29) v Yorkshire
Scorecard

James Taylor admitted he is lucky to be alive after returning to Trent Bridge for the first time since being diagnosed with a serious heart condition.

Taylor came to watch his former team-mates in action on the first day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Yorkshire, less than three weeks after being diagnosed with the condition ARVC (arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy) that has ended his career as a professional cricketer.

After spending two weeks in hospital, Taylor was fitted with an external defibrillator and is expected to undergo heart surgery in the coming weeks.

While he described himself as "in hysterics" when informed that he would never be able to play at professional level again, he hopes to remain involved in the game in some other capacity.

"I'm lucky to be here, that's the positive in this situation," Taylor told Sky Sports. "But at the forefront of my head is that I can't do what I love to do ever again. When I was told I would never play cricket or exercise again, I was in hysterics. That is sad, but it's a fact that I know that I'm not physically able to do it.

"The condition is made worse by exercise. That's accelerated through extensive exercise so that suggests I probably shouldn't be doing it.

"But I have a massive passion for cricket and a burning desire to always be involved in cricket and be around it. Obviously I can't play but in some capacity I'd love to stay in cricket, whatever role that may be."

Taylor said that his pain had been eased somewhat by the support of his family, friends and the wider cricket community.

"The reaction and outpouring of emotion towards me as a person has made it so much better," Taylor said. "It is priceless.

"Not only the messages, but all the support from the hospitals and the NHS; let alone my family and my girlfriend. I'm lucky I've got good people around me. They have saved my life and kept me going mentally."

Nottinghamshire could have done with a player of Taylor's quality as they failed to take advantage of an off-colour display by Yorkshire's seamers on the first day of this match. Having raced to 77 without loss in the first hour - courtesy of a great deal of over-pitched bowling - they declined to 261 all out before bad light curtailed the day by more than 20 overs.

That meant that Alex Hales, playing his first game of the season, was unable to grasp the opportunity to cement his England place. Hales and Steven Mullaney timed the ball sweetly in their opening stand, with Hales' foot movement and judgment outside off stump impressive. Mullaney's half-century included a series of glorious cover drives and two pulls for six.

But when Jack Brooks dismissed Hales with the first delivery of his second spell - reward for a cunningly placed short extra cover and punishment for Hales' failure to get completely over the ball - it precipitated a change in the balance of power.

It was also the start of a much-improved display from Brooks. He was removed from the attack after his first two overs conceded 20 runs and conceded 10 fours in his first seven overs. But he dismissed Hales with the first ball of his second spell and later produced a beauty - pitching on middle and straightening - to punish Michael Lumb for playing slightly across the line. He then bowled Greg Smith off the inside edge and lured Chris Read into a drive with a delivery that left him. He also took a straightforward catch in the deep and ended Stuart Broad's entertaining counter-attack with an excellent, accurate throw.

Adil Rashid - who defeated Samit Patel with one that went straight on and made short work of the tail - was also impressive once again, while Steve Patterson typified a much-improved performance after a modest start. He ended Mullaney's attractive innings with one that left the batsman off the pitch, though Mullaney may rue pushing at one he could have left.

It left Yorkshire coach, Jason Gillespie, feeling upbeat after his team's revival.

"I'm incredibly satisfied with that from where we were after the first hour," he said. "Andrew Gale said a few things at lunch - not ranting or raving, just quiet authority - and the guys were well aware of where we'd gone wrong. We'd got our lengths wrong and bowled too full. Steve Patterson played a big part in getting things back. He's a very important performer for us."

Mullaney admitted that Nottimghamshire had contributed to their own downfall. "I thought we started really well," he said. "But we've probably given them six or seven of the wickets. We are disappointed with our batting performance, but it could still be a good score if we bowl well."

In truth, this was a relatively modest display of cricket from two sides containing such good quality players, but Yorkshire will be delighted to have produced such a display and still ended the first day on top.