After contributing to victory in Johannesburg with two outstanding catches, James Taylor said the short-leg grabs in the second innings made his first Test series success extra special.
Taylor took crucial catches off both Stuart Broad and Steven Finn, to dismiss Hashim Amla and Dane Vilas respectively, and the Outlaws limited-overs skipper believes England owe their fans another massive effort in Centurion.
“Winning my first Test series with England feels amazing, and we owe it to ourselves and all the fans who have been brilliant here in South Africa and on social media to put in a massive effort at Centurion and make it 3-0,” said Taylor.
“Stuart Broad's spell on the third day was unbelievable and I experienced some of the best feelings I've ever had on a cricket field when I took those two catches at short-leg off him and Finny.
“Broady's skill level was unbelievable. He got a lot of stick from the crowd but he thrives on that type of attention and once again rose to the occasion.
“It was the first time I've been in a team when something like that has happened for us – I’m usually on the receiving end of those types of performances.
“By the time I joined Rooty in the middle, all the hard work had been done and it was just a question of getting over the line.
“We stayed in the dressing room for a good few hours afterwards enjoying each other's success, singing loads of team songs and soaking it all in.
“Beefy (Ian Botham), Athers (Michael Atherton) and Wardy (Ian Ward) popped in to see us and it was nice to share the moment because they're good guys who we see a lot of on tour.”
The extra time between Tests, after England won with two days to spare, has given the squad chance to explore South Africa, and extra time for Taylor to put even more practice into his short-leg fielding.
“I worked really hard on my technique in the build-up to the Test with Paul Farbrace, focusing on keeping my weight going forward and keeping my hands together,” he said.
“Paul started wearing boxing mitts in practice recently, using them to belt the ball at me and simulate really sharp catches. Drills like that don't always pay off quickly, but luckily it did for me this time.
“As soon as he hit it, I was thinking 'keep your hands together" so I'd have a better chance of getting my fingertips underneath the ball and it sticking. When they stick, it's a great feeling and luckily they both did.
“I tried my best to get rid of the short-leg when I was batting earlier in the Test but it obviously didn't work because he caught me out shortly afterwards.
“Sometimes when I cut, my hands slide up the handle a little and this time they obviously slipped a little too far and I launched the bat to the edge of the square.
“It's happened to me a couple of times before - but the bat has never quite gone that far – it’s just one of those things that can happen when you go so hard at the ball.
“It's been good to chill out between Tests and a few of us went and visited a lion park, where we also saw some cheetahs,” Taylor continued.
“Finny drove us around and we saw loads of different things; it's important to take in those sorts of experiences while you're here and it was a really worthwhile trip.
“The squad went to Mamelodi township to do a few hours' coaching with the kids there. I was really impressed with the high skill level of the fielding and throwing in particular.”
The 2015 season saw dramatic last-gasp four day victories, thrilling limited-overs contests and an historic Investec Ashes Test, all in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge.
Next season, we’d wager, will be no less enthralling and frankly we’d hate for you to miss out.
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