LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) – Uncapped Nottinghamshire batsman
James Taylor is poised to make his England test debut in the
second match of the series against South Africa starting on
Thursday after Ravi Bopara said he was unavailable for personal
reasons.
Taylor, who is set to bat at six and has one limited-overs
cap, is the only change for the Headingley contest after England
were trounced by an innings and 12 runs in the first match of
the three-test series at the Oval.
“We were outplayed during the first test last week but it is
important that this squad regroups and focuses on preparing for
the second test,” England national selector Geoff Miller said in
a statement.
“We have made one change to the squad with James Taylor
replacing Ravi Bopara, who is unavailable for selection due to
personal reasons.
“James has been part of the England Performance Programme
for a number of years and has performed consistently for England
Lions and now has an opportunity to step up and experience the
Test environment.”
Bopara, who only returned to the team for the first test
after an absence of almost a year, has struggled to impose
himself in the test arena but the full reason for his withdrawal
has not been released.
Pace bowler Steven Finn will be looking to return to the
side after England took just two wickets at the Oval as they
battle to avoid losing the series and their number one test
ranking to the South Africans.
Squad: Andrew Strauss, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim
Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Graham
Onions, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, James Taylor
Jonathan Trott
(Writing by Mark Meadows)
© Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved
