James Taylor

James William Arthur Taylor (born 6 January 1990) is an English former cricketer and cricket selector who played for Nottinghamshire and England.

A right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm leg break bowler, Taylor made his debut in first-class cricket in 2008 for Leicestershire and made major impressions in his first county seasons.

He is noted as being a fine fielder in the covers.

He became the youngest Leicestershire one-day centurion and first-class double centurion.

At the age of 18, Taylor was included in Leicestershire's 12-man squad to face Worcestershire at New Road in April 2008.

At the time he was still studying for his A-levels but was given permission to play.

Leicestershire coach, Tim Boon, said that whether Taylor played depended on the pitch and if it merited an extra batsman.

Taylor was selected and batted at seven and scored eight runs before being trapped leg before wicket (lbw) in his only innings by Kabir Ali.

The game ended in a draw, as both teams were frustrated by the weather.

Two months later he made his Twenty20 (T20) debut along with teammate Sam Cliff in a seven-wicket defeat against Derbyshire.

Despite two late victories, including a win in the return fixture against Derbyshire at Grace Road where Taylor contributed 10, Leicestershire finished bottom of their group in the 2008 Twenty20 Cup.

In a three-day tour match against Bangladesh A as part of their 2008 tour of England, Taylor made only his second first-class appearance.

The match ended in a draw and Taylor made his maiden half-century of 51 from 109 balls before being caught off Shakib Al Hasan.

Taylor finished his one-day season with two Natwest pro40 games against Derbyshire and Surrey.

He top scored with 43 not out in a narrow six-run victory against Derbyshire and hit 37 in a loss against Surrey before being caught off youngster Stuart Meaker to end his Leicestershire season on a high.

Taylor was awarded the Young Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year for his 898 runs for Shrewsbury School in 2008, at an average of 179.60.

The award also recognised his Youth International appearances and his County matches.

In 2009, Taylor also became the youngest player in Leicestershire's history to score 1,000 championship runs in a season.

A promising talent in his 34 white-ball appearances for England, Taylor was forced into retirement at just 26 years of age due to a previously undiagnosed heart condition.

Taylor played for Leicestershire against the West Indies as part of their 2009 tour of England but struggled, recording scores of just four and five in a drawn three-day match.

Taylor was selected to play in his first County Championship match of 2009 against Middlesex on 28 April.

In the second innings he scored his maiden first-class century, in his seventh game scoring 122 not out to help save the match and earn a draw.

He followed this with a Man-of-the-Match performance in Leicestershire's victory in the Friends Provident Trophy against Worcestershire on 12 May.

Taylor achieved his maiden one-day century, scoring 101 before being run out by Matthew Mason.

This performance garnered much media attention and saw him become Leicestershire's youngest ever player to score a one-day century, taking the record from former England and Leicestershire player David Gower.

Leicestershire missed qualification for the second round of the 2009 Twenty20 Cup by one point.

In ten matches, Taylor scored 205 runs with a highest score of 41 not out.

On 1 August Taylor scored an unbeaten double-century against Surrey, scoring 207 not out, spending seven hours at the crease, whilst sharing an unbeaten partnership of 230 runs with Jacques du Toit who also made a century as Leicestershire declared on 593/5.

In the process Taylor became the youngest Leicestershire player to score a double-century.

Having represented England at under-19 level and captained the England Lions, Taylor made his One Day International (ODI) debut for England in August 2011.

In December 2011, Taylor signed a contract to play for Nottinghamshire and the following summer he made his England Test debut when he faced South Africa at Headingley becoming the 653rd man to play Test cricket for England and the first born in the 1990s.

A serious heart condition, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), forced him to retire from all cricket in April 2016.

Two years after his retirement he was appointed as a selector for the England team.

James Taylor was born in Burrough on the Hill, a small village in Leicestershire.

His father, Steve, was a National Hunt jockey until injury forced him to retire and he is now a race starter.

Taylor attended Maidwell Hall and then Shrewsbury School where he studied his A-levels and played for their cricket team.

Standing 5 feet 4 inches tall, Taylor is known for his diminutive height and is one of the shortest cricketers to have played English county cricket.

He believes that his batting is not weakened by his height and has said "It's good for hooking, and less can go wrong with my feet movement. I use it to my advantage as I like to cut and pull."

In his early teens, Taylor had links to the Worcestershire academy and played for his local team Loughborough Town and Shrewsbury School.

As an 18-year-old he made the headlines for Loughborough Town for becoming only the second batsmen to score a double-century in the top flight of the Everards League, and setting a record for the highest individual score for the club when he made 202 not out.