GLOUCESTERSHIRE batsman Chris Taylor said he felt sympathy for Jon Lewis after the seam bowler stepped down as county captain last week, writes Rob Iles.

Lewis took over the job from Taylor three years ago but has endured a tough 2008 campaign following the departure of Mark Alleyne as head coach in February, taking on more responsibility while the county wait for John Bracewell to return as Director of Cricket next April.

Having endured the tough rigours of captaincy in the past, Taylor knows more than most how difficult the job is and hopes former England international Lewis can now concentrate on getting back to his best with the ball.

He said: “I feel for Jon, he’s shouldered a huge amount of the burden, took on a huge amount of work off the field and feels it had an effect on his game which is the last thing we wanted to do.

“I haven’t spoken to Jon yet but I’m sure he didn’t take the decision lightly, the prospect of working with John Bracewell probably kept him going.

“We respect that decision and he’ll respond in the way that we know he can.”

Taylor, who has just been appointed by the ECB as fielding coach to help the England Performance Programme squad in India, is a potential replacement if the county overlook current front runner Alex Gidman due to his poor form this season.

However, the 32-year-old refused to be drawn on whether he would like another crack at the job.

He said: “I haven’t thought about it much to be honest, I’ll do the best I can for the England Performance squad and that’s all I’m thinking about at the moment.

“I’m sure the decisions will be made in time and I’ll leave it to the powers that be.”

Taylor also took on more responsibility last season by working with the players on fielding aspects although that seems to have paid dividends as he now has a chance to work with the likes of England Ashes winning captain Michael Vaughan, Monty Panesar and Sajid Mahmood in the 16-man EPP squad.

The opportunity came about when Taylor was playing for Gloucestershire in Derby and he was approached by England fielding coach Richard Halsall who offered Taylor the chance to assist them.

The squad will depart for Bangalore on November 21 and will play two four-day games before returning to the UK on December 19 and if it goes well for Taylor he could join the England Lions for their tour to New Zealand next year.

He said: “It is an area I would like to pursue after playing and I assumed I would get into it then but to get this opportunity now is fantastic for me.”

“I took up the role (at Gloucestershire) last year and found it fascinating.

“I would like to think it was pretty well received by the guys and now I’ve got the chance to work with some elite players.”