Ross Taylor’s crucial knock against Pakistan will boost his sub-par subcontinent record

Despite his poor record in Asia, Taylor is the fifth most successful Kiwi batsman in the subcontinent.

Ross Taylor has long been one of New Zealand’s key batsmen in the middle order. He has the reputation of being a good player of spin, which is why it is surprising that his record in the Asian subcontinent is quite sub-par. Shiamak Unwalla looks at Taylor’s statistics at home and away.

When Ross Taylor is in full flow, even top-class bowlers struggle to contain him. He has an exceptionally strong sweep shot that he can deploy with devastating effect against the spinners. He showed during one innings in particular — a savage 33-ball 81 not out for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009 — that he could very easily slog-sweep balls on off-stump over square-leg and midwicket for big sixes.

Taylor has shown time and again that he can play shots like that consistently. Which is why it is such a surprise that he has not done well in Tests in Asia. Taylor’s overall Test record is impressive without being truly great:

However, when looking specifically at his record in Tests played in the subcontinent, his figures take a drastic beating:

As seen above, Taylor’s average falls below 40 from a career average of over 46 while batting in subcontinent conditions. Curiously, the one country in which he has actually done well is Sri Lanka — where the pitches are perhaps the most conductive for spin. Below is Taylor’s Test record in each Asian country:

*Note: All matches he has played in UAE have been against Pakistan.

Taylor has scored the most runs against Sri Lanka at an average of over 50, which is even better than his career average. While he has scored the next highest number of runs against India, they have come at a terrible average (by his standards) of just 32.55; this includes a century in a fifty in five Tests.

Despite his poor record in Asia, Taylor is the fifth most successful Kiwi batsman in the subcontinent. However, this stat speaks more about the general ineptitude of New Zealand batsmen in Asia. Below is the list of top five Kiwi run-scores in Asia:

Taylor’s average is the lowest after that of Brendon McCullum, but since he has stopped ‘keeping, McCullum’s average has shot up radically. The fact that he has a double ton in India speaks volumes of how far his batting has come. Taylor, on the other hand, remains poor in Asia.

However, Taylor scored a fighting 77 not out, and is still at the crease with New Zealand leading by 177 runs with four wickets remaining in the second Test against Pakistan. If Taylor can get a hundred, it will not only boost New Zealand, but also help improve his figures in the subcontinent and lend him a bit of respectability. Come Day Five, Taylor will have his chance to rewrite a poor record.

(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and cricket fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter @ShiamakUnwalla)

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