England Test cricketer forced to retire at 26 due to 'serious heart condition'

London, April 12: England's young Test batsman James Taylor has been forced to retire from cricket due to a "serious heart condition".

According to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the 26-year-old Nottinghamshire right-hander's career has been "sadly brought to an end by a serious heart condition."

"Taylor originally withdrew from last week's fixture against Cambridge MCCU with what was believed to be a viral condition.

"However, specialist scans revealed yesterday that the 26-year-old has the very serious heart condition, ARVC (Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Arrhythmia)," a report on ECB's website said on Tuesday (April 12).

The batsman himself took to Twitter to say he will battle on after "the toughest week" of his life. "Safe to say this has been the toughest week of my life! My world is upside down. But I'm here to stay and I'm battling on! #lifestooshort," Taylor wrote.

Taylor played 7 Tests and 27 One Day Internationals for England. He made his ODI debut in 2011 and played his first Test in 2012.

England Team Director Andrew Strauss said: "It is both shocking and saddening to hear that James' career has been cut short in such a sudden and unexpected manner.

"Throughout his career, he has constantly impressed with his determination to make the absolute most of his ability, and it is immensely cruel that such a hard working player will be unable to fulfil his great potential in the international arena.

"The ECB will work closely with Nottinghamshire and together we will do everything possible to help James through this difficult period, and aid him in his recovery."

Following this sudden retirement news, former cricketers took to Twitter to express shock and wished Taylor for his future.

"Very sad news about @jamestaylor20 .. A great lad who will be greatly missed on the pitch but hopefully will stay involved with the game ..," former England captain Michael Vaughan said.

"Absolutely gutted for the lad on many levels !," former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff said.

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