JAMES Taylor might not be aiming to prove Kevin Pietersen wrong – at least publicly – but he is determined to make the most of his second chance with England.
In his autobiography, Pietersen said Taylor had no right to play Test cricket in his last appearance in 2012, claiming the batsman was so small he should have been a jockey.
However, the Nottinghamshire limited overs captain is preparing for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka and is hoping it serves as a springboard for the World Cup – and an opportunity to add to his two Test caps beyond that.
Taylor, understandably, did not want to have his say on Pietersen, but he did tell the Post he is delighted his mental strength has paid off.
Despite averaging 73.12 last season and 88.80 this season in domestic one day cricket, Taylor was kept waiting for almost two years to be picked again.
He said: "I always have hopes to be in the England side. Hopefully I've always been there or thereabouts given the runs I've scored.
"I'm desperate to get in the side in whatever format it is. There's a lot of one day cricket to come so I would have been disappointed not to be involved at all.
"Pretty much every interview I've done for the last three years has had questions about me and England.
"I enjoy the speculation of whether I'm in the squad or not. I'd rather be discussed than not at all.
"I just get on with it. I know the only way I'll get into England is by making runs for Notts and winning games for them.
"It's what I keep saying and it's what I do. It makes it a lot easier thinking like that.
"You can't get ahead of yourself. If you do then you don't make runs."
The former Leicestershire man, 24, says the constant shadow of an England selector looming over him this season in Notts director of cricket Mick Newell has been a great positive, even though Newell gets to see the best, and worst, of him.
"Having Mick here is great. He lets me know how close I am. I knew I was there or thereabouts because of it," he said.
If Taylor succeeds on the sub continent and gets his chance at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand at the start of next year, he believes England can defy predictions and win it.
"You look at the talent. If the guys perform then England have a chance. There is a lot of guys with a lot of experience and there's a lot of exciting players with both bat and ball," he said.
Newell says Taylor did not perform to the level he is capable of in the County Championship, scoring 992 runs at an average 38.15.
He has drawn plenty of praise from Newell for his white ball endeavours, but Taylor says he was happy with his season as whole.
"I'm pretty happy, especially with the five hundreds in six weeks at the end of the season with Notts and England Lions. I'm delighted with that.
"All the one day cricket went well and I finished on a high in the Champo," he said.
There was notable relief from the diminutive but powerful middle order batsman after he scored 126 in the final game of the season against Sussex in County Championship Division One.
"I was delighted to get that hundred. I'd worked hard for it all season," he said.
"It would have been the only season where I'd not got one in the Championship if I'd missed out in the final game."
