Former England batsman James Taylor has announced his engagement just weeks after being forced to retire at the age of 26 because of a serious heart condition.

Despite his career ending prematurely, Taylor is getting on with the rest of his life and proposed to girlfriend Josie Naylor last week.

"Luckily for Josie's sake, it wasn't just a knee jerk reaction [to his condition]. I'd had the ring for a few months, actually," Taylor told the Good Morning Britain television programme on Wednesday.

"We went for a nice picnic where we had our first picnic together, so it was pretty simple. I couldn't get my heart racing too much so I handed her the ring and kept it simple."

Ms Naylor added: "It is nice to have something to smile about after all of this."