Taylor pads up for more
‘‘The one-day World Cup is definitely on the radar.’’
Ross Taylor
The Black Caps are back in action this week, after an eight-month break, and Ross Taylor is back on track to make history.
When the Covid-19 pandemic brought last summer to a premature end, the veteran batsman was five matches short of becoming the most-capped New Zealander in the history of the game.
Daniel Vettori holds the record as things stand, with 437 appearances across three formats – 112 in tests, 291 in one-day internationals, and 34 in Twenty20 internationals – but Taylor is set to catch and pass him before Christmas.
When the prospect was put to him as the Black Caps gathered in Auckland ahead of Friday’s opening T20 against the West Indies at Eden Park, he jokingly clutched his hamstrings, as if to say: ‘Don’t jinx it’.
At 36, turning 37 in March, and with 433 matches in his legs – 101 tests, 232 ODIs, and
100 T20s –Taylor is a lot closer to the end of his career than the start of it – an ODI against the West Indies in Napier way back in March 2006.
Thinking back to then, Taylor said yesterday he never thought he’d end up here. ‘‘I was really happy to play one or two games for New Zealand,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve still got to get there first, but my mentor Martin Crowe always used to say records are meant to be broken for the next guy to come and beat.’’
Covid-19 meant Taylor was at home with his family from mid-March to late in July, when he left to play in the Caribbean Premier League, but while he enjoyed the rare break from the international cricket grind, he said he was glad to be back playing.
‘‘When you’re a parent, it’s nice to have your kids around, but you’ve normally got a little bit of your mind on the game you’re playing in a couple of days.
‘‘To have a complete break away from that and to be present with my family was something I’ll never forget, but you’re only a cricketer for a certain period of time, and I’mnot getting any younger, so I’ve got to make the most of every opportunity I can.’’
Taylor took time during the break between Black Caps fixtures to think about what lies ahead and came away still targeting the next one-day World Cup, in India in 2023, for his swansong, even though he knows that will be a challenge.
‘‘2023 was going to be a stretch, I think, at the best of times, when it was February and March and now the World Cup has been dragged out to October and November ‘23, it’s another six or seven months to hang around,’’ he said.
‘‘You’ve got to have short-term-goals and long-term goals and the one-day World Cup is definitely on the radar.
‘‘I might have to trim things back leading into that – as I said, I’mnot getting any younger.
‘‘It doesn’t mean I will make it, but it’s definitely one of my goals,’’ Taylor said.