It's been a great start to the season for run-hungry Chris Taylor, who has already racked up three centuries at county and league level while many other batsmen are still trying to find their feet.

But the Yorkshire batsman, who also captains Undercliffe in the Bradford League, just loves to be in the thick of the action and he will not be too happy at the moment, having just lost his Yorkshire place through no fault of his own.

Indeed, Yorkshire's director of cricket, David Byas, is perfectly satisfied with Taylor's progress so far, but the return from the Caribbean last weekend of Anthony McGrath meant there was simply no room for the Colt at the moment.

It is an unfortunate situation because Taylor is in prime form but the big consolation for him is that he has now firmly established himself as a regular Yorkshire player of the future.

Over the past couple of years, Taylor has had to battle it out with Scott Richardson for a Yorkshire spot whenever one was available but the release of Richardson at the end of last summer left the way open for Taylor to prove that he could take his chances when they came.

Last year, Taylor topped 1,000 runs in the Bradford League at an average of 66.87 and he has wasted no time this season in showing that he is still churning out the runs.

As well as making league and cup centuries, Taylor also got his Yorkshire season off to a rousing start with 150 in the three-day match against Bradford-Leeds Universities' Centre of Excellence and he followed this up with excellent batting in both innings against Essex to help Yorkshire to victory by seven wickets in their opening Championship encounter.

It's typical of Taylor's insatiable appetite for runs that when the students ran him out for 150 with 19 fours and three sixes he returned to the pavilion and, in his own words, "had a bit of a sulk".

"It felt really nice to post my first ton for Yorkshire and I was halfway towards a double century when Simon Guy called me for two and as I was completing the second run the bowler collided with me, knocked me over and winded me," said Taylor.

"I was just out of my crease but the umpire said that Bradford-Leeds could call me back in the spirit of the game if they wanted to but they declined.

"I know I had got a good score and that we had plenty of runs on the board but I am never satisfied and always want to go on and make more runs."

Taylor appreciates that this is a big year for him and he has no intention of being a Yorkshire batsman who just fades away and is not retained, as has happened to several of his colleagues in recent times.

"I must admit I was a bit disappointed last season not to get more first team chances after making so many runs in the second XI and in the league but there are some very good players at Yorkshire and I have got to be the equal of them.

"I set myself very high standards and when I see the runs that the likes of Anthony McGrath, Matthew Wood and Craig White make, I want to do the same."

Taylor played cricket in Sydney to keep himself sharp during the winter and when he returned to Headingley in March he found the cricket side of operations under new management with White captain and Byas in overall charge.

"I really enjoyed the pre-season period," said Taylor. "It was a lot harder and much more intense than previously and I think that David gets the best out of everyone and that Craig is an inspirational captain."

Taylor has worked hard on several areas of his game, including when to leave the ball alone rather than play it, and he's also tried to be more positive and go for his shots as he did against the Universities to telling effect.

Deep down, he's still a batsman who is never happier than when out in the middle for long periods, a trait not at odds with his childhood hero, Geoff Boycott.

No wonder, then, that one of his career highlights so far is the unbeaten 52 against Surrey at Headingley in 2002 which marked his maiden half-century. He is quite happy to tell you that it was a rearguard action which lasted for three-and-a-quarter hours.

Updated: 10:21 Saturday, May 15, 2004