At 34 and still 15 matches away from completing 100 Tests, New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor is determined to reach the three-digit mark. Taylor will embark along with the BlackCaps for the UAE where there will play three T20Is and as many ODIs and Tests against Pakistan, beginning with the first Twenty20 International on October 31 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
“I’ve always said I want to get to the World Cup. Obviously, the Boxing Day Test in Australia is a nice incentive also,” Taylor told Stuff.co.nz on Sunday.
“I wouldn’t mind playing 100 Tests. But that is still a long way away and I’ve got to get these hammies and calves and rest of the body in some decent shape to hopefully get there.”
Taylor has back after suffering a string of injuries. A growth in his cornea affected his vision which continued a slump in form. He tore his calf during a series against South Africa in 2017 and en route to scoring an unbeaten 181 against England this year, his hamstrings got the better of him.
“Some days you’ve got to be honest and you think you’re close to retiring, and some days you feel like you could still play for two-three years at international level,” Taylor said.
“You’re a long time retired and you don’t want to make any rash decisions on form or emotion. Just continue to play like you’ve still got a bit left in the tank but knowing that most of the countries you go to, it’ll probably be the last time you travel there so make the most of it and enjoy the experience and not look too far ahead.”
New Zealand’s series against Pakistan is the first assignment for new coach Gary Stead, who took over the reins from Mike Hesson.
“He’s [Stead] very hands on compared to Hess. I’m looking forward to working with him,” Taylor said. “Already he’s had a chat to me about batting and he’ll work well with [batting coach Craig McMillan]. A batting coach overseeing 15 or 16 players can be quite daunting and he’ll take a lot of pressure off Macca and bring his own experiences as an international player. I’m sure it’ll be good for the team and myself.”
Taylor, who has registered 17 Test centuries to equal his mentor, the late Martin Crowe’s record, wants to be with the national for as much time as possible.
“I want to play as many games for New Zealand as possible. The day you just play one format, or even two, your level of performance will probably drop a bit,” he said.
“You might be in and out of the side, but facing the touring team regardless of the format helps you out. Also, just being in the New Zealand set-up and that higher level of training compared with domestic cricket where the resources aren’t quite the same.”
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.