Taylor making his way up list of Black Caps greats

Ross Taylor’s form against the West Indies was so outstanding I’ve been pondering his place among New Zealand’s finest batsmen.

Judged by his batting average, he is arguably our greatest.

Stewie Dempster and Martin Donnelly had higher averages. But great players that they were, they played so few tests their test records are not really meaningful.

Taylor has played 53 tests and scored 4134 runs at an average of 47.51 an innings.

In the series against the West Indies, Taylor scored 495 runs at the tidy average of 247.5, with a double century and two other centuries. They are not figures to be sneezed at.

When judging our top batsmen, I factor in statistics, the strength of opposition, longevity and the amount of support they had in the side.

Setting aside Taylor for the moment, here is my top 10: Crowe always had good batting support, but the way he handled so many strong attacks, especially pace bowlers, with such style and ease cannot be ignored.

Turner loses points for taking a six-year break from test cricket when in his prime, but his deeds were nevertheless outstanding. A pioneering player.

For 16 years he took all that Roberts, Holding, Marshall, Garner, Walsh, Lillee, Thomson, Willis, Botham, Waqar, Wasim, Imran, Dev and the rest could throw at him. He was always staunch, and often productive, too. Playing test cricket so briefly in the early 1930s, Dempster is difficult to judge, but he was a world-class opening batsman in an era of fine openers and his record in other cricket confirms his class.

Not the most orthodox of players, but entirely effective. He sold his wicket dearly and proved himself an ideal No 3.

New Zealand’s most prolific run-maker in first-class cricket, Sutcliffe’s test career was checked after he was struck a sickening blow in the head in South Africa in 1953. Thereafter he struggled against genuine pace. He remained a fine player of spin bowlers and a joy to watch.

His test career was even more truncated than Dempster’s. Donnelly scored New Zealand’s first test double-century, and was regarded as among the world’s best in the immediate post-war period. Though his figures are just mediocre, Reid was a huge figure. Often the only world-class batsman in the test side. At his best he was brilliant, but he lacked consistency – perhaps because he played in the amateur era.

Reid had a short test career and there were questions about how he handled pace. However, he played spin masterfully and his figures can’t be argued with.

Fleming’s career was ultimately disappointing – 55 times he reached 50 in tests, yet he converted only nine into centuries. Against that, he scored three double-centuries, and was a consistent run-scorer over a long career. Always a pleasure to watch.

The players I anguished about leaving out were Bevan Congdon, Nathan Astle and Mark Richardson.

And Taylor? Well, the manner of his batting against the West Indies was impressive – no slogsweeps, more patience, more solid, more mature.

His career has a way to go, but at this point I would place him at No 7, and he’s climbing.