James Taylor secures Nottinghamshire move

After weeks of lengthy negotiations the batsman James Taylor has completed his switch from Leicestershire to Nottinghamshire following agreement over compensation to his former county.

Taylor, who has played one ODI against Ireland, still had a year to run on his Leicestershire contract but had made clear his desire to move to Division One in the belief that it will further his England ambitions.

"I'm thankful to Leicestershire for allowing me to speak to other counties as I feel that I will benefit from playing against the best teams in four-day cricket," said Taylor. "Nottinghamshire have a talented squad that can challenge on all fronts and I am pleased to be part of that.

"I will always be grateful to Leicestershire for the part they have played in my development but it is time to move on and I am looking forward to the new season."

Taylor is currently in India with the England performance squad but could yet feature for the senior side in the coming months if changes are made to the one-day team, following the whitewash in India, or in the Test squad if he pushes aside Ravi Bopara. His Championship statistics were a little disappointing in 2011 with 889 runs at 38.65 in 13 matches, but he averaged 58.28 in the CB40.

When he stepped up to England Lions level he hit two hundreds in a three-match one-day series against Sri Lanka A then struck 76 and 98 in the one-off Test. Overall his first-class average is an impressive 49.82

"James is already on England's radar and we hope that he can play a part for us on his way to realising his international ambitions," said Nottinghamshire's director of cricket Mick Newell. "This is a significant signing for us and we hope that he can make an impact in all competitions.

"There was a lot of interest from counties for James's signature and we are very pleased that he has chosen to commit to Nottinghamshire."

Taylor is the second England batsman to join Nottinghamshire ahead of the 2012 season following Michael Lumb's arrival from Hampshire and Newell is still exploring further signings.

"We lost Mark Wagh and Ali Brown last season but James and Michael are fitting replacements and they were our primary targets," he said. "The international calendar may also present us with an opportunity to recruit an overseas batsman and we're exploring that to see if we can do a deal with the right player."