Taylor awaits Conway’s arrival

Ross Taylor knows what it’s like to be talked about as the next big thing.

He went through it as a teenager, first at Palmerston North Boys’ High School, then for Central Districts in domestic cricket.

In February 2004, while he was still 19, there was a headline in the Dominion Post: ‘‘Taylor makes powerful case for Black Caps’’.

Later that month, it was written in the same paper that it was ‘‘a case of when, not if, he will play for the New Zealand one-day side’’. As it turned out, ‘when’ was more than two years after that – March 1, 2006.

His breakthrough innings came in December that year – an unbeaten 128 against Sri Lanka – and from there he hasn’t looked back, blazing an impressive career that is still going 14 years later.

While Taylor made his international debut before he turned 22, Devon Conway has had to be patient.

But his decision to move from South Africa to New Zealand and

bide his time Devon Conway while becoming

eligible for the Black Caps is set to pay off this week.

The 29-year-old could make his international debut potentially as soon as Friday, when the Twenty20 series against the West Indies begins at Eden Park in Auckland.

Seeing as he’s generated plenty of headlines of his own, thanks to his feats for the Wellington Firebirds, many are eager to see what he has to offer.

Taylor was asked to reflect on his arrival on the scene yesterday and after pointing out that it was a long time ago, he said he remembered ‘‘all those cliche´s,’’ adjectives like ‘‘raw’’ and nouns like ‘‘potential’’.

The latter work better for Conway than the former. At 29, he’s far from raw.

But with averages of 53.55 in the T20 Super Smash, 69.24 in the Plunket Shield, and 47.19 in the Ford Trophy one-day competition over the past four seasons, he’s got plenty of potential – even if he’s got less cricket in front of him than your typical debutant.

Though he has taken part in training camps, this is Conway’s first series with the Black Caps, and Taylor said he was looking forward to rubbing

shoulders with him. ‘‘His name’s been put around for a few years now.

‘‘I’m really looking forward to seeing how he goes, and as a batter I’m

looking forward to seeing how he trains and to picking his brain and vice versa.

‘‘He’s going to have a big role up the

top of the order to show the New Zealand public what he’s got and I’m sure this will only be the start of something.’’