James Taylor eager for England Test recall following World Cup
'I can score runs in international cricket against the best in the world’
Friday 3 April 2015 16:53, UK
James Taylor says he is desperate to play Test cricket again for England following a 'bittersweet' few months for England, which saw him return to the international fold, earning a place in England's disappointing World Cup campaign.
Taylor hit five fifties in 15 ODIs since his call up for the tour of Sri Lanka in November, the highlight being his 98 not out in the opening game of the World Cup against Australia, in front of a capacity MCG crowd.
It wasn't enough to earn Taylor a spot on the Test tour to the West Indies, with the squad leaving for the Caribbean on Thursday, but it hasn’t dented Taylor’s determination to add to his two Test caps.
Pressure
"I'm desperate to get back in that Test fold," said Taylor. "I've shown people I can score runs in international cricket, against the best teams in the world, in pressure situations.
"The World Cup was bitterly disappointing, to perform the way we did and not be anywhere near as consistent as we wanted to be.
"But from a personal point of view, to get back into the team in Sri Lanka, get a couple of scores there, and in the tri-series in Australia was really pleasing.
"Then to get 98 in the opening game of the World Cup, in front of 90,000 was a great experience, albeit a bittersweet one because of the way we performed in that game, losing by a big margin."
It wasn't the only heavy defeat England suffered at the World Cup, taking eight and nine wicket hammerings against New Zealand and Sri Lanka respectively, and an upset loss against Bangladesh sealing a group-stage exit.
England’s one-day strategy has come under heavy fire since, including criticism of their dropping an in-form Taylor down the batting order from three to six ahead of the opening game.
Ownership
"I would like to get back up the order, but I also think I can do a good job at six, or wherever they put me," Taylor added. "One of my strengths is finishing the innings, that's where I like to take ownership - winning games.
"That's my role for Nottinghamshire. If you saw every innings that I played last year, they were all very different, batting to the situation that's put in front of me. That's what England saw and that's one of the reasons I was moved down the order.
"But I love batting at three, it gives me the opportunity to bat long periods of time and score hundreds, that's my ideal role.
"Hopefully I continue to be given a go and can win more games for England, but we’ll just have to see. For now I’ve got to keep concentrating on scoring runs for Notts so that I’m in the mix come the middle of the season, and around the Test matches."
