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Graham Onions still pushing hard for England place

England's Graham Onions (L) attends a practice session  at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, central England on July 9, 2013, on the eve of the first Ashes cricket test match between England and Australia
Image: Graham Onions: England seamer is ready to stake his claim for place in the side

Fast bowler Graham Onions is determined to keep "knocking on the door" as he pushes for a place in the England side ahead of the third Ashes Test.

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Taylor ready

With the squad announced on Sunday for the third Test match in Durham, there are doubts about the participation of Kevin Pietersen due to a calf injury and Onions believes Nottinghamshire's James Taylor should be given the chance. "When Kevin got injured we didn't know how bad it was, it looked a little innocuous at the time, he didn't seem to be in too much pain," he added. "James Taylor, this year, has been a huge run scorer. England asked him to score well and perform for his county and he has done that. "This game against Sussex is a fantastic opportunity for the Australian batters to try and perform well but also for the England selectors to look at James Taylor. "Whether or not they are going to be the same quality as Kevin Pietersen we don't know, but James Taylor has performed well for Nottinghamshire and deserves the chance to play." While admitting the squad have their heads down preparing for Thursday at Old Trafford, Onions did not rule out thoughts of a series whitewash. "The next Test match is what is on our minds but of course it would be silly not to think about 5-0 at all," he said. "After the days when Australia used to beat us 5-0 and it was tough, now England are dominating and we have guys who are in form but it would be foolish to think too far ahead."

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