Why McLean Park is Taylor-made for Ross
It has been a long wait for Ross Taylor to return to one of his favourite grounds as the Black Caps face India at McLean Park in the opening ODI today.
In 13 one-day innings in Napier, Taylor has an average of 88.75 compared to his career average of 47.91. That includes three of his 20 ODI centuries.
It’s his second highest average at any ground where he’s had at least five innings behind Hagley Oval (112.50 from six innings, including one century).
He also averages an impressive 70 in five tests at McLean Park.
“It’s good to head out to Napier,” Taylor said yesterday. “It has been a while. It’s a home ground for the Stags and there have been a few dramas but it looks like the ground and venue are in good nick.”
Westpac Stadium in Wellington, where the Black Caps host India in the final ODI, is another ground where Taylor was prospered with an average of 73.00 in 12 innings.
Taylor made his ODI debut at McLean Park against the West Indies in 2006, scoring 15 in a 91-run victory. He returned to the ground later in the year to score his maiden ODI century against Sri Lanka.
He scored 128 not out in his third ODI knock but it still wasn’t enough as Sanath Jayasuriya scored a quickfire ton as Sri Lanka chased down New Zealand’s 285 with 10 overs to spare.
Taylor’s other two ODI tons in Napier were 100 against England in 2013 and 102 not out against Pakistan four years ago, a match where current skipper Kane Williamson scored 112.
Taylor needs another 34 runs to pass Nathan Astle and Stephen Fleming who are tied for the most ODI runs scored at the ground with 743.
Taylor’s recent run of scores has been exceptional — his past six ODI innings are 137, 90, 54, 86*, 80 and 181* — seeing him rise to No 3 in the rankings.
He told ESPN his recent improvement is due to experience: “You play a couple of hundred games, you've worked out your game a little bit. I find that I don't over-complicate things too much. I just try to relax before I go out to bat and just try to sum up the situation as soon as possible and as quick as possible once I get out there. Maybe in the past you have a pre-conceived idea on how the wicket's going to play, or how you should play once you're out there. And then you get out there and it's totally different.”
But it’s also a fact that Taylor’s performance has improved out of sight because of his improved vision following an operation to remove a growth in his left eye at the end of 2016. It improved his ability to pick up spin bowling in particular.
“The eye operation's probably played a bit of a part in reading spinners out of the hand,” Taylor said. “I was never a fan of day-night games before that. I hated batting under lights. I always found spinners and people who bowled change of pace quite hard to pick up because of my eye. Since then I've been able to see it.”