Sarah Taylor: England's wicketkeeper-batter explains her recovery from 'mental injury' - BBC Sport
Sarah Taylor is "still not the finished article" after a break to deal with anxiety problems, but is "ready" for this summer's World Cup.
Last updated on .From the section Women's Cricket

Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on all England matches and selected others; in-play highlights on the BBC Sport website

England's Sarah Taylor says she is "still not the finished article" after returning from a break to deal with anxiety problems, but is "back and ready" for the summer's home World Cup.

Taylor, 28, stepped away from cricket in May of last year to deal with what she described as a "mental injury".

Speaking for the first time since making that decision, she said: "I still have anxiety day to day.

"But I'm in a much better position than I was, including in my cricket."

Wicketkeeper-batter Taylor is widely regarded as one of the most talented female cricketers in the world, and was the first woman to play first-grade men's cricket in Australia.

She has scored played in 101 one-day internationals, scoring 4,072 runs at an average of 39.76.
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She returned to action in a one-day international against Ireland in Dubai in April, and was named in England's World Cup squad on Monday.

"I've learned that the person I became over the last three or four years wasn't me, I wasn't being honest with myself. That was the biggest step for me, to actually come out and admit it," she said in an interview with the ECB.

"I was able to get the help that I needed. Anyone who is struggling, I would suggest talking about it because the more people who understand the better.

"It's now just a case of putting a lot of strategies in place to cope with day-to-day tasks and cricket. Hopefully I can use them and push them towards performances and playing well for my country."

Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on all England matches and selected others; in-play highlights on the BBC Sport website

England begin their World Cup campaign with a match against India in Derby on 24 June after two warm-up matches against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

"If you have a look at my last 12 months it's been a rollercoaster of anxiety from day to day stuff to my return to cricket. It's been very graduated. The ECB have been brilliant in terms of not rushing me back in," added Taylor.

"I'm not the finished article. New places are still a struggle for me and I still have to push through those on a day-to-day basis. Where I'm most comfortable is out in the middle.

"Those small tasks, they will come. I've made great strides to be able to be in the position I am now."