In news that has stunned English cricket, James Taylor has been forced to retire from the sport due to a serious heart condition.
The 26-year-old had finally nailed down a spot in the England Test side, but has now had to step aside from the game after scans revealed that he will require an operation to treat his condition, which has been likened to that of former football Fabrice Muamba.
'Titch' as he was affectionatley known retires having played 34 matches for his country, including seven Test matches and 27 ODIs where he averaged over 40 with the bat.
Taylor admits 'world is upside down'
When the news broke on Tuesday morning, well-wishes and messages flooded in for Taylor, who was an extremely popular player on the county circuit and in the England dressing room.
In a Tweet Taylor sent after the news had been revealed, the Nottinghamshire and England batsman said that this had been 'the toughest week of my life' and that his 'world is upside down'.
Taylor enjoys excellent first-class career
Ever since breaking on to the scene at Leicestershire in 2008, Taylor has been one of the most talented and hard-working players in county cricket.
His first-class record speaks for itself, where he registered 20 centuries for Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire at an average of over 46. Taylor has always had a penchant for going big once he gets into his innings, and made plenty of big scores in his eight year career.
At the age of just 19, he became the youngest double-centurion for Leicestershire, scoring 207 not out against Surrey in his first full-season, where he ended the year with an average of 57.47, having scored 1,207 runs for the bottom-club. His second double-century for the club came in the 2010 season against Middlesex, which he then followed up playing a starring role in the Twenty20 Cup success in 2011.
A move to Nottinghamshire followed in 2012, and his career continued to flourish as he became a stalwart of the England Lions sides. At Nottinghamshire, Taylor scored 204* against Sussex in 2013, and then nailed a career-best score against the same opponents last July, when he plundered 291.
He also took his one-day batting to another level at Nottinghamshire, ending with a List-A average of over 53, and a career-best of 146 not out against Derbyshire in 2014.
Strauss shocked and saddened by Taylor's early retirement
England Team Director, Andrew Strauss admitted it is 'both shocking and saddening' that Taylor had had his career cut short in such a 'sadden and unexpected manner'.
Strauss said that the ECB would 'do everything possible to help James' going forward, and aid him with his recovery.