James Taylor in frame for England T20 duty

Shropshire cricket star James Taylor is on course to represent England at September’s Twenty20 World Cup.

Taylor, who is the contracted player for Shrewsbury in the Birmingham League Premier Division, has been named in the provisional squad of 30 for the tournament in Sri Lanka.

And the 22-year-old will now be hoping to make the cut when the squad is halved in size on August 18.

Taylor, who plays First Class cricket for Nottinghamshire, has a sole one-day international appearance to his name when England played Ireland last year.

He was overlooked by the national selectors when Kevin Pietersen quit limited overs cricket in May but is now back in the fray for this summer’s tournament, where England will be the defending champions.

Pietersen hinted at a U-turn from that decision to retire from the shorter formats of the games but has not been included in the preliminary squad.

However, he could still be named in the final 15-man squad.

England’s 50-over captain Alastair Cook has been named, despite not featuring in a Twenty20 match for England since November 2009.

Yorkshire batsman Joe Root and Lancashire all-rounder Steven Croft are the only players in the squad not to have been capped by England.