Taylor to ‘close’ deal for Firebirds

CRICKET

MATT TAYLOR’s found it a long wait but now, at the ripe old age of 22, the Upper Hutt batsman will make his debut for Wellington.

An up-and-comer of the scene for some years, and occasional 12th man during the Firebirds’ Twenty20 campaign, the Whitby boy is expected to bat at six or seven in tomorrow’s 50-over clash with Otago at the Basin Reserve.

Taylor comes into Wellington’s 12 to replace Luke Ronchi, who is off on international duty. Tom Blundell will keep wickets in Ronchi’s place, with Taylor given the task of helping to ‘‘close’’ the Firebirds’ innings.

Taylor’s selection is reward for recent effort, having returned from an offseason in England with some fitness targets to hurriedly meet.

‘‘I used to be a bit lazy, I suppose you could say, and since I’ve been back I’ve kind of got rid of that [reputation],’’ Taylor said yesterday.

He’s spent most of the last five weeks nursing a hamstring injury, picked up bowling for Hutt Valley against Wellington City. ‘‘All my recovery’s been based on getting back for these one-dayers so it wasn’t too bad,’’ he said.

Taylor is confident his game is in decent shape, after spending countless hours honing his skills for the jump in standard from club and provincial A cricket. He said the main things were learning to cope with the increased pace of the bowlers he’ll confront and expanding his range of strokes.

Wellington come into this match last on the six-team table, three spots below Otago. After an eight-wicket loss to Central Districts and a washout midweek in Christchurch, the Firebirds are already eight points behind leaders Auckland.

In tomorrow’s other games, Canterbury host CD and Northern Districts are at home against Auckland.