James Taylor has insisted that Alex Hales is the right man to open the batting for England alongside Alastair Cook.

Seven different players have taken on the role since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012, but nobody has yet been able to make the position their own.

Hales scored just 16 runs in two innings against a South African Invitational XI over the last couple of days, but ahead of the Boxing Day Test versus to Proteas, Taylor has tipped the Nottinghamshire right-hander to "bounce back".

"I know he's going to be frustrated but it happens, it's only one game and as an opener it's a tough place to bat. You're going to get those low scores," he told reporters.

"He's just as determined as everybody else to score as many runs as he can. It doesn't always work like that and I'm sure he'll bounce back for the next game."

In 85 first-class outings, 26-year-old Hales has scored 5,420 runs at an average of 38.71.