Kiwi stalwart Taylor walks into the sunset

A little over three months after announcing his decision to quit international cricket, a teary-eyed Ross Taylor stood in the centre of Hamilton’s Seddon Park as New Zealand’s national anthem played. His children Mackenzie, Jonty and Adelaide stood with him wearing the Kiwi shirt with Taylor’s name printed on the back. The moment to bid farewell had arrived, 16 years after he first took guard for New Zealand, with his 236th ODI against Netherlands—450th international game overall.

Taylor bit his lip and tried to fight emotions, not unlike his approach to batting that helped amass 18,199 runs across formats. The 38-year-old former Kiwi skipper also played 112 Tests (joint-most for NZ) and 102 T20Is (second only to Martin Guptill). His position as one of New Zealand’s all-time greats was secure way before his 14-run innings on Monday.

Taylor made his NZ debut against West Indies at Napier in 2006, soon becoming a vital cog in the batting line-up.

He played a pivotal role in New Zealand’s rise in white-ball cricket, propelling them to the finals of ODI World Cups in 2015 and 2019.

Taylor grew to own the No 4 spot. In Test cricket, he came out to bat at that position in 106 of his 112 matches, scoring 7,087 runs at an average of 47.24.

Only four Test batters have scored more runs at No 4— Sachin Tendulkar, Mahela Jayawardene, Jacques Kallis and Brian Lara. Among those he left behind are Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mark Waugh and Kevin Pietersen.

Taylor’s career coincided with the rise of Kane Williamson, the two forming a formidable middle-order for New Zealand for over a decade—5,230 of Taylor’s 7,683 Test runs came in matches involving Williamson. Taylor and Williamson are the top two run-getters for New Zealand.

In ODIs, his 7,690 runs in 194 matches at No 4 is a neat 743 runs ahead of second-placed Jayawardene and over 3,000 runs more than Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim, the next active cricketer on the list (10th overall).

Like in Tests, Taylor leads the Kiwi run charts in ODIs. His tally of 8,607 runs places him ahead of Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle.

The first active player on the list, Martin Guptill, is over 1,000 runs behind.

In T20Is, Taylor’s 836 runs at No 4 are the most for New Zealand, though he is fourth among T20 run-getters for his country. While the records will eventually be eclipsed, Taylor’s legacy at No 4 across formats is assured.