By CricketCountry Staff
Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor said on Wednesday his side will continue to play aggressive cricket, like they did on the final day of the one-off Test against New Zealand, even though chasing for a win instead of playing for a draw cost them the match.
Published: Nov 09, 2011, 07:42 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 09, 2011, 07:42 PM (IST)
Brendan Taylor scored a fine century on the fifth day against New Zealand to lead his side’s fightback © AFP
By CricketCountry Staff
Bulawayo: Nov 9, 2011
Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor said on Wednesday his side will continue to play aggressive cricket, like they did on the final day of the one-off Test against New Zealand, even though chasing for a win instead of playing for a draw cost them the match.
Chasing 366 for victory on the last day at Bulawayo Sports Club, the hosts fell short of 34 runs.
Taylor told Newsday, “If we want to become better cricketers, we have to play like that. If you don’t test yourself, you won’t know how far you can go.”
On the final day of the one-off Test, needing 305 runs to win and with eight wickets in hand, Taylor led his side with the brilliant century, ably supported by Tatenda Taibu. But after their partnership was broken, Zimbabwe lost six wickets for 44 runs and ended up on the losing side.
In his three Test matches as captain, Taylor has played aggressive cricket and impressed with his decision-making.
During Zimbabwe’s comeback Test against Bangladesh in August, he declared their innings on 291 for 5 on the fourth day, to set a 375-run target for the tourists.
“You have to be realistic and we felt that it was realistic to go for the win,” said Taylor, who was crticised for declaring the innings early.
The Zimbabwe captain said despite their short batting line-up, two top batsmen occupying the crease would have made the target gettable.
“I wanted us both (he and Taibu) to spend a session or a session-and-a-half at the crease and thought that if one of us was there at the end, we could win.”
