Derek Randall Testimonial Brochure

Taylor made for England?

(apologies for the Foxes photo but it was the only one available!)

It was great, if unexpected news to see James Taylor named in England’s 13 for the second test against South Africa this week. James has had a great season since moving to Trent Bridge but it was tempting to think he had been overlooked by the selectors after that disappointing ODI against Ireland last year.

Since then, he has been ignored for the one day formats and as these seem to be something of a stepping stone to the test squad, you began to wonder if the selection committee had discovered some perceived weakness over the Taylor technique.

While we’ve all welcomed this, even if his inclusion may affect our run-in to the end of the season, it was also disappointing to see some pundits commenting on a return to a ‘revolving door policy’ by England.

Since the last Pakistan test, England have used five players at number six – Eoin Morgan, our Samit, Jonny Bairstow, Ravi and now James Taylor. Many have suggested that either Morgan or Bairstow deserved another chance at this level.

Personally I believe that Taylor will have an excellent test career, even if it gets off to a slow start against the South Africans. Of the positive comments surrounding the player – it has been highlighted that he makes big scores for England Lions – games where the pressure is truly on.

In that respect, and bearing in mind his appetite for big hundreds, I feel that his ability and temperament are similar in many ways to that of Alastair Cook and I truly believe that he could have an equally effective test career.

What’s your opinion?

The Pavilion - as was

Voges ton puts Notts in command

At 145/5 it looked as if Notts may not capitalise on the bowling display by Andre Adams that saw Middlesex slump to 98 all out in their first innings. However, a 176 ball 105 from Adam Voges, supported by 71 from Chris Read saw the pair put on 143 for the sixth wicket as they pushed towards a comfortable lead.

Notts favourites to progress to T20 finals day

This isn’t a tipping service by any means but it’s interesting to look at the views of the bookmakers and I thought that Notts were pretty good value to lift the T20 trophy this year. At the very least, another finals day could be on the cards but wouldn’t it be nice to convert all this potential and win the thing for once?