England set for Test shake-up

England's Test batting line-up could be heading for a major shake-up ahead of their home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan this year.

The shock retirement of James Taylor following the discovery of a rare heart condition has opened up one spot in England's Test XI, and the underwhelming performances of Alex Hales and Nick Compton against South Africa have put that top-order pair under pressure.

England face Sri Lanka at Headingley on May 19 in the opening match of their seven-Test summer (three against Sri Lanka followed by four against Pakistan) and performances in county cricket are being studied closely with England berths up for grabs.

Hampshire's James Vince and Nick Browne are seen as leading contenders to come into the side, while former openers Adam Lyth and Sam Robson could be contending for a recall after strong starts to the domestic season.

Lyth played seven Tests last year, partnering Alastair Cook for England's home season, averaging 20.38 before he was ditched for a failed experiment with Moeen Ali at the top of the order against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

Quick Single: Lyth, Robson stand up

Hales came in as Cook's partner for the four Tests against South Africa and although England won the series 2-1 and Hales scored 60 in his first Test innings, he finished the series with 136 runs at 17.

Cook has had eight opening partners since the retirement of Andrew Strauss, now England's director of cricket. Compton's first stint with England was as Strauss's replacement before he was followed by Joe Root, Michael Carberry, Robson, Jonathan Trott, Lyth, Moeen and Hales.

Opener Browne has had a modest start to the season – 87 and 101 in a warm-up match against Cambridshire University has been followed by 1, 55*, 15 and 3 for Essex in the second division – but is thought to be highly rated.

The 25-year-old averages 42.2 after 33 first class matches with nine centuries and seven fifties.

Hampshire's Vince has scored 25, 21 and 119 in three innings this season at No.3. The century against the defending champions Yorkshire, at Headingley, would seem to carry the most weight, albeit in a match where Lyth also scored a ton in a high-scoring draw where there were five centuries scored, topped by Jonny Bairstow's 246.

Vince is already part of the England limited-over set-up, playing one match in the World T20 – against Afghanistan – as England made their charge towards the final.

Ditching both Hales and Compton for Vince and Browne could see Root move up a spot to No.3.

Quick Single: Taylor forced to retire with heart condition

Taylor announced his retirement on April 12 to the shock of the cricket world after routine scans revealed he actually had Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy – a rare but very serious heart condition.

His enforced retirement could see a return to the middle order for Gary Ballance who lost his spot midway through last year's Ashes series.

Meanwhile, the England captain has eased fears about the impact of adjusting to a new helmet design may have on his batting with an unbeaten century for Essex in their draw with Sussex.

Cook fell for one in the first innings having donned the new helmet required by ECB regulations, but did so under duress, unhappy about a perceived impediment of his vision due to a higher, fixed grille that minimised the gap with the helmet's peak.

Cook was dropped on one and went on to hit 11 fours in his patient century, the 52nd of his first-class career

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