Nottinghamshire’s Mick Newell believes the club’s new signing James Taylor chose the county over others for cricket reasons alone.
Taylor completed his protracted switch to Trent Bridge following an agreement over compensation with his former county Leicestershire.
But his new director of cricket doesn’t think finances motivated the player, who was also courted by Warwickshire.
He revealed: “James could have got more money elsewhere but I think he opted to join us because what we can offer is a better all-round package.
“He clearly has international ambitions and has concluded that coming to Nottinghamshire provides the best opportunity to realise them.”
Newell, who also signed Michael Lumb this winter, knows both batsmen – as well as Samit Patel, who recently shunned the IPL – are all keen to be England regulars.
But he cautioned against too rapid a rise through the ranks for 21-year-old Taylor – and claims it won’t be easy for any of them to stamp their authority on the international scene.
He said: “James is a significant signing for us but he may take a bit of time to settle in at a new county and a new ground and we have to be patient.
“Clearly he has now played international cricket but he’s also stepping up from Division Two and should in theory be playing against better bowling attacks.
“It is very difficult for any county to plan for players who aren’t centrally contracted, and if they all get called up we might be in a bit of a mess.
“Certainly, looking at England’s fixtures next summer it looks like Samit will be unavailable for us for quite a long time due to one-day matches.
“But Test matches are another matter. I think England’s top six batsmen in the longer form are very settled and won’t be going anywhere soon.”
Taylor, who joins Notts with an impressive first-class average of 49.82, made his international debut for England against Ireland in August.
In making the move he was quick to praise his former county’s role in his progress thus far. He said: “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.
“Nottinghamshire have a talented squad that can challenge on all fronts and I’m 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 next season.”
