The Notts batsman is making a strong case to be included in the national team.
Ahead of England’s first Test on home soil in 2013 against New Zealand, there are calls for Nottinghamshire batsman James Taylor to be included in the national set-up.
Since the international retirement of Paul Collingwood the Three Lions have struggled to find a permanent replacement in the No.6 spot in the batting order.
Yorkshire’s Joe Root has been the favourite of the selectors in recent tours, featuring with mixed levels of success in both India and New Zealand.
However, with star batsman Kevin Pietersen ruled out of the upcoming series against the Black Caps with a knee injury, there is now another place up for grabs.
In the last two Test matches that Pietersen was sidelined England opted for Root’s county teammate Jonny Bairstow, although the 23-year-old failed to really stake a claim for a permanent inclusion.
Therefore some are calling for Taylor to be brought back to the national squad, with the Notts player having not featured for his country since August 2012.
The 23-year-old played two Tests and one ODI against South Africa in a series that was overshadowed by Pietersen’s texts to opposition players and eventual expulsion from the team.
Taylor was dropped after the visit of the South Africans and was then not included in England’s 30-man performance squad earlier this year.
However, the young batsman has done the only thing he could do in such a situation and has batted well for his club, scoring two centuries so far this season in a four-day and a 40-over match.
This coupled with a further score of 97 and two more half-centuries, as well as an impressive average of 61.60 for the England Lions, is going to make it very difficult for the national selectors to ignore the Notts man.
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