If cricket were an amusement park, Jerome Taylor’s career would be a roller coaster ride. There have been those twists and turns, that odd bump on the way, the euphoria of a high and the harsh reality of a low. Since Taylor made his ODI debut in 2003, his career has been marred by injuries. It was back in 2010 that he last played a full five-match ODI series and since then has been out of the side. Cut to 2014 and the fast bowler now finds himself on a comeback trail. Rejuvenated with an emphasis on fitness and setting short-term goals, he now looks for a revival of his cricketing career. In the first two ODIs this series, Taylor has got the Indian batsmen in trouble more often than not with sheer consistency. Some disciplined bowling got him his first ODI wicket in four years – which was also his 100th in ODIs – in Kochi, and an even better display of fast bowling yielded him three Indian scalps in Delhi. How difficult is it for a fast bowler to try and win each time he hits the ebb? From his ouster to his comeback, Taylor opens up in a BCCI.TV exclusive. Excerpts from the interview The result didn’t go your way but it was one good day out with the ball for the team, wasn’t it? It is a game of cricket and it can go either way. You have to understand that you win some and lose some. First and foremost, it was a good bowling effort from the team. We did a good job in restricting India to that total. On a personal front it was not one of my best performances and I know there is room for improvement. I am looking forward to improving a lot as a bowler. How does it feel to reach 100 ODI wickets? Once you are playing cricket you look forward to a landmark and today my first wicket was my 100th wicket in ODIs. It is pleasing and it is a good landmark to reach for each and every player. Not many people will play the game and reach those little milestones. I was very happy and I am feeling elated about it. You made your ODI debut way back in 2003 and in 2014 you are fighting your way back into the team. What kind of a bowling space are you in? It is a case where injury comes in and I am not sure what will happen in the future. I am working a lot on my fitness part which is helping me a lot in my bowling. I am a bit stronger than I was before. It is a wide range of stuff from running to gymming and so on and so forth to keep myself fit. If I get to naming the specifics I am going to go on and on. I don’t know what kind of a space I am in at the moment. I am more comfortable with myself getting to the crease and delivering the ball. I am not worried about pace and my aim is to execute the team plan efficiently as much as I can on a given day. Having made a comeback, do you think this is a very important phase in your career? I think it is an indeed important moment in my career. I am 30 at this point in time and as a fast bowler I don’t know how long my body will allow me to go on. It is difficult to come back each time you are out but every cricketer goes through it. Every day is a new day and you always try to better your previous performance. It doesn’t matter what it was in the past. It might be a fifer but you have to try and better it next time around. As a cricketer I am always looking to improve. I am just trying to play each game as it comes and take it from there. I keep on believing on doing my basics right and move forward. How did you prepare yourself to bowl against a strong Indian batting line-up? India has a strong batting line-up and once you come here to play you realise that you have to put in some work. I am conditioned for that and I have conditioned my mind to go out there and work hard each and every time I go out on the park. Being a fast bowler you couldn’t have asked for a better presence than of Curtly Ambrose in the dressing room, could you? Curtly is a very close friend of ours and the fast bowling unit in the side is gaining a lot from his wealth of experience. The guys seem to be grasping it. We are trying to learn how to bowl on slow and low wickets. We have our task cut out and he is working very hard with us. We are looking forward to the games to come. Do you see yourself in the World Cup squad or is it still farfetched? World cup is still a long way away. I am thinking about now and thinking about playing cricket here. I am really thinking about playing cricket in India. I am just trying to do what I have to do here and the World Cup will take care of itself. Hopefully we can come out and put up a good show in the next game. When the time for the World Cup comes I will think about it.