Ross Taylor says lack of hundreds hurting New Zealand in Test cricket

Under Ross Taylor’s captaincy, New Zealand have lost three and drawn two of their eight Test matches played © Getty Images

By CricketCountry Staff

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Antigua: Jul 30, 2012

 

New Zealand captain Ross Taylor on Sunday cited his batsmen’s failure to get big scores in Test cricket, as the reason for their poor run in the conventional form of the game.

 

“This hasn’t been the problem in the last couple of years, this has been a problem with New Zealand cricket for the last 10-15 years now,” Taylor said.

 

“It’s not just this team. Players haven’t gone on to score hundreds. To be competitive in Test cricket for long periods of time, you need to score hundreds and you need to be hard on yourself when you don’t. 80s and 90s are good for your stats, but the team needs hundreds,” Taylor was quoted as saying by Cricket365.

 

New Zealand lost their opening Test against the West Indies by nine wickets in at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

 

The Kiwis have managed only one win on this tour – the third One-Day International at Basseterre. Taylor, the New Zealand skipper, is the only batsmen from their side who scored a ton on this tour.

 

In the first innings, Martin Guptill reached 97 while Brendon McCullum managed 84 in the second.

 

“There’s only so much you can say, and you can’t really repeat yourself too much but we’re trying,” said Taylor.

 

“We tried to do it today but we’ve got another opportunity in the next game to get three figures. We have got one more game to go, and improve in a couple of areas. I don’t think we are very far away,” he said.