Taylor, 28, will make his first appearance since the World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina after recovering from a hand injury.

The exclusion of Murray from the 22-man squad comes as a surprise, with the 87-cap lock’s recall expected to see him handed at least a place on the bench.

Stade Francais back-row forward Taylor replaces Kelly Brown who drops to the bench, and Hadden has shown belief in his team by making just one further change, as Graeme Morrison replaces Glasgow Warriors team-mate Andy Henderson at inside centre.

Scotland have lost all three of their matches in the RBS 6 Nations this season, slumping to defeats against France, Wales and Ireland.

Head coach Hadden expects Taylor, who will win his 59th cap, to strengthen the side.

Hadden said: “Simon Taylor has played well in the three games for his club since recovering from a hand injury and he is now ready to return to the national side.

“Graeme Morrison is being rewarded for his outstanding performances for the Scotland A team, away in Italy and then against Ireland A at Perth.”

The captaincy remains with scrum-half Mike Blair, however regular skipper Jason White should be involved at some stage. He is named on the bench after recovering from a head injury.

There had been questions over the fitness of Nathan Hines and Scott MacLeod but both men keep their places in the second row.

Hadden expects the pair to be fully fit for Saturday so he opted to exclude Montauban man Murray from his squad, just a day after his arrival in Edinburgh to strengthen Scotland’s options.

Edinburgh centre Nick De Luca was unavailable to Hadden after sustaining an ankle injury on league duty with his club last Friday.

White’s selection among the substitutes may raise some eyebrows.

The Sale Sharks flanker suffered concussion during Scotland’s match in Cardiff last month and missed the clash with Ireland as a result.

His omission from the starting line-up suggests he is being left out on merit, or is barely match fit.

Scotland team to face England in the RBS 6 Nations at Murrayfield on Saturday:

H Southwell (Edinburgh); R Lamont (Sale Sharks), S Webster (Edinburgh), G Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), N Walker (Ospreys); C Paterson (Gloucester), M Blair (Edinburgh, captain); A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), R Ford (Edinburgh), E Murray (Northampton Saints), N Hines (Perpignan), S MacLeod (Llanelli Scarlets), A Strokosch (Gloucester), S Taylor (Stade Francais), A Hogg (Edinburgh).

Substitutes: F Thomson (Glasgow Warriors), A Dickinson (Gloucester), C Smith (Edinburgh), J White (Sale Sharks), K Brown (Glasgow Warriors), R Lawson (Gloucester), D Parks (Glasgow Warriors).