The most under rated cricketer in the country!

I have been wanting to write about this loyal servant of Gloucestershire cricket for a long time. No one really does as ‘Bomber’ is not one of the marquee names paraded in the West Country. However, do not take this for a sign of weakness on Matt’s part or a sign of laziness on mine. For there is a steely determination in the left arm paceman and on my part, a huge amount of appreciation for the role that he plays.

He made his debut in a List A game all the way back in 2011. Roll the clock forward two years and he entered the list of Gloucestershire first class cricketers with his debut against Leicestershire towards the latter end of 2013. The early years were littered with injury issues and lower back stress issues which would have seen a lesser character retire from the game.

Bomber is a man who works on making the batter play on a regular basis. Not hugely quick but accurate and streetwise. The most successful bowlers of the past twenty years or so haven’t been out and out quick, with Porter, Cook, Sidebottom or Worrall being this type of protagonist. What Matt relies on is accuracy, delivered in a skiddy fashion with a hint of swing through the air, a bit of nip off the pitch, whilst being brisk enough and in layman’s terms, not bowling much rubbish.

In T20 he is hugely valuable. When England won the T20 World Cup in 2009, left armers have always been de rigeur in this form of cricket with their ability to bowl full and wide outside the off stump, allowing captains to set fields to them. David Payne gets many plaudits and rightly so, but I am sure he would doff his reverse badged cap to his partner and fellow southpaw at the other end. Matt was the player of the final in our 2024 triumph and rightly so.

He is also useful down the order, batting in a fashion which can be belligerent at times – the antithesis of his personality. The Taylor brothers could not be more different in personality with Jack more vociferous and Matt, quietly going about his trade. Yet there are similarities in style of play, attitude as well as looks.

So why does Matt go under the radar?

Well, he is the quiet man of the Gloucestershire dressing room. Quiet but not boring. Having had him on air numerous times during my stints with Glos, he is most definitely not boring. The last time I winced as he described losing his big toenail virtually every year in the pursuit of excellence in his career. With his back issues and foot problems along with everything else in a fifteen year stint, he has put his body through the pain barrier in the cause of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.

If anyone deserves a testimonial soon, it is this reserved character who has shown loyalty to the cause for a decade and a half. His performances this year have been outstanding and a ray of light in a disappointing season. A sixfer and a fiverfer are part of the sixteen wickets taken this season along with an economy of around 3 an over, allowing Cameron Bancroft a semblance of control.

Matthew David Taylor might not be written about much, he might not get the plaudits he deserves but for his loyalty and the way he conducts himself he is a hero to many Gloucestershire fans. One of the nicest blokes in the game, he deserves some press inches.

Arise, Sir Bomber of Banbury.