James Whitaker on the Sri Lanka one-day squad
By Will Jackson
National Selector James Whitaker has admitted that James Taylor forced his way into the England squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka through weight of runs in county cricket.
Taylor was one of two changes in the 16-man squad as England begin preparations for the 2015 World Cup, with Ravi Bopara also included after being left out against India.
The Notts Outlaws captain has enjoyed a bumper year in limited-overs cricket, compiling three centuries and averaging almost 90 in the Royal London One-Day Cup, while also captaining England Lions and scoring a further ton in the triangular series earlier in the summer.
On the reasons for Taylor's inclusion, Whitaker told ecb.co.uk:“(Through) weight of runs, significant contributions for both Nottinghamshire and the Lions over the last two or three years and he’s beaten the door down.
“In Sri Lanka we might need some of James’ quality and he’s got a chance to push for a place in the World Cup team as everybody has.”
Bopara has also earned a recall to the squad after missing the Royal London One-Day Series loss to India, something Whitaker says was a tactical decision. 
He added: “We know what qualities Ravi has. He missed out on the India series as we wanted to have a look at a different formation of bowlers and unfortunately for Ravi he missed out.
“We go to Sri Lanka, we know the qualities Ravi gives us and we know now he’ll do anything to get back into that team for the World Cup, so good luck to him.”
Whitaker also gave his backing to Alastair Cook, who was once again named as captain of the 16-strong touring party that will play seven one-day internationals against Sri Lanka before turning their attentions to the showpiece next year.
Whitaker said: “We’ve reviewed Alastair’s position like we’ve reviewed everyone’s position and there’s absolutely no doubt in our minds that Alastair Cook is the right man to lead the team in Sri Lanka and through to the tri series in Australia and into the World Cup.
“Yes he’s been through his ups and downs this year but has showed tremendous resilience and has all the qualities we need to lead this England team.
He added: “There’s a lot of work to be done on one-day cricket but we feel we’ve got a good opportunity in the run up to the World Cup to purely concentrate on one-day cricket.
“The main thing is we’ve recognised the players that we think we can work with and challenge for places in the World Cup team.”