Emotion, relief for
Ross Taylor needed a pick-me-up. He got it from a random phone call, after a tearful Sydney press conference last month as New Zealand’s greatest test runscorer.
On a monumental day for Taylor, amid a crushing one for the Black Caps, he could barely utter a moving tribute to his late friend and mentor, Martin Crowe, who’d instilled belief and tasked him with overtaking Stephen Fleming’s tally.
Taylor flew home with his family the next morning, his head spinning, knowing his next test against India – starting at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Friday – would be his widely celebrated 100th.
With milestones piling up, what could lift Taylor to even greater heights?
Then his phone buzzed from former test opener John Wright, the coach under whom Taylor became New Zealand captain.
‘‘I got a lovely call from Wrighty two or three days after I got back [from Australia]. He was pretty chuffed for me. He said it was a nice time to relax, but at the same time nice to rejig those goals,’’ Taylor told Stuff.
‘‘Reset your goals, and set them high, was his advice. Give yourself something to chase . . . goals aren’t everything but they’re a nice reminder when your mind is going in different directions, to bring you back on track and give you a focus.’’
Reset, Taylor did, as he readies to join Fleming, Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum in the New Zealand test 100-club. Already he’s the country’s highest test and ODI runscorer with a combined 40 centuries, the latest an absolute gem to guide the Black Caps home in the first ODI against India in Hamilton.
Plus, a world first: when Taylor dons his black cap on Friday he’ll become the first cricketer to play 100 matches in all three international formats as his 36th birthday looms next month.
It means increasing talk of the r-word, but Taylor’s not engaging. At least not until the end of next season. After his mate Martin Guptill said he was targeting the 2023 World Cup, Taylor hasn’t ruled that one out either.
‘‘There’s always people asking when I’m retiring. A lot of past players tell me ‘you’re a long time retired, make the most of it and enjoy it’.
‘‘I haven’t ruled it [2023 World Cup] out but I still think it’s a long way away. First and foremost I want to get to next year – the Twenty20 World Cup and then the home summer – and then I’ll have a good idea on how I’m placed at the end of next summer.
‘‘Whether there is still a drive, whether I’m good enough, whether I’m fit enough, and whether I deserve my spot in the side. If I can tick all those, then definitely 2023 is an option.’’
First, a big week beckons akin to a milestone birthday party at the Basin Reserve. Taylor’s family and friends will be there, packing into a New Zealand Cricket marquee, plus a few thousand paying guests.
Taylor is excited, and relieved NZC is organising it. His task in Wellington is sourcing 51 free tickets for his extended family on the weekend of his sister’s wedding. And, having nudged past Fleming’s record in Sydney, the pressure has eased on that front, too.
‘‘If I was two or three runs away it would be a nervous two or three runs. And nervous for my partner at the other end.’’
Wife Victoria, their children