James Taylor is determined to nail down a batting spot in England's Test side and put behind him three years of frustration to force his way back into the reckoning.
The Nottinghamshire batsman, who has an opportunity to stake his claim in two warm-up matches against Pakistan 'A' in Sharjah, played two Test matches against South Africa in 2012 but has since only featured in the shorter formats for his country.
The 25-year-old shone during a fruitful 2015 – smashing his first international ton in a one-day clash against Australia at Old Trafford before rounding off the campaign with an emphatic 164 for his county.
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Diminutive Taylor, who stands at only 5 ft 6 in tall, believes he has done exactly what the England selectors told him to do to earn a recall – score runs.
"I'm delighted to be back in, it's been a long few years trying to get back," said Taylor, who captained England for the first time in an ODI against Ireland in May.
"I had a good season last year in white ball cricket for England and the championship for Notts – a season that I loved. That's given me the opportunity to come out and get back in the Test side.
"It's an opportunity for me to try and stake a claim and get back in the side. We've got two opportunities in the warm-up games so it's up to me to pull my finger out and score some runs.
"I've worked really hard and I'm definitely a better player than I was in 2012 which is where you want to be. I've scored the volume of runs I was asked to do to get back in the side. I've done that and obviously scoring those runs against Australia in the ODI series (246 runs at 49.2) I'm sure would have helped."
England batsman @jamestaylor20 is speaking to the media @ICCAcademy and says he is relishing the #PAKvENG series pic.twitter.com/MV2rjf2pML
— Sport360° (@Sport360) October 3, 2015
Speaking after England's net session at the ICC Academy in Dubai, he added: "It's been a frustrating few years trying to get back in the Test side but it's something that has pushed me on.
"Getting those knock backs when I thought I was going to get selected and wasn't drives you forward and spurs you on that bit more and makes you work that bit harder."
Having watched on from the sidelines as England reclaimed the Ashes Urn on home soil, Taylor is ready to join the main show this time around and feels he is in good form to thrive in the three-Test series, if given the chance.
And with England coach Trevor Bayliss expected to give every member of his 16-man squad a run-out during both two-day warm-up fixtures Taylor wants to make the most of it.
England’s first warm up match begins on October 5.
