New Zealand veteran batsman Ross Taylor, on January 6, became the leading run-getter for the Kiwis when he overtook the record held by former skipper Stephen Fleming. Taylor was on 22 when he leapfrogged Fleming’s tally of 7172 runs in the last innings of the series against Australia. Subsequently, Taylor recalled his former mentor Martin Crowe, who had believed in him in the initial days.
Taylor got emotional at the press conference and the same was palpable. The statesman added that the aim was to play one Test match but it has been a wonderful journey for him as he has played 99 Test matches for the Blackcaps.
Taylor has done a great job for New Zealand.
On the other hand, it was a disappointing series for New Zealand as they were outgunned by Australia 3-0. New Zealand was not able to put up a fight and it was one-way traffic in the series.
Taylor broke down when he was attending the press conference and remembered his idol, Martin Crowe, on a memorable occasion.
“My goal was to play one test match. I guess it’s an emotional time because my mentor Martin Crowe, that was one of the goals he put down for me was to be New Zealand’s highest test runscorer. To be honest, I didn’t believe him, but I’d have loved for him to be here and help celebrate,” Taylor said.
Taylor was able to surpass Fleming’s record in 12 Test matches fewer than the former southpaw batsman. Subsequently, he got a standing ovation from the crowd and also the Australian players. Taylor added that he was not sure of getting success in the Test fold when he started out in his career.
“When I first played for New Zealand I’d had a pretty decent one-day career and only scored three or four first-class hundreds and Twenty20 was just coming through.
“I always thought I was good enough to play one-day cricket but test cricket was something I was never quite sure if I was good enough. That’s why I’d seek Martin’s help to become a better player than the raw, gay abandon player that I was as a youngster.”
Ross Taylor will play his iconic 100th Test match when New Zealand will take on India in the upcoming series. The first Test match will take place at Wellington from 21st February.
Here is the video:
An emotional @RossLTaylor after becoming our all-time Test runs record holder. Legend. ? #AUSvNZ #cricketnation pic.twitter.com/d25Wr66by3
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) January 7, 2020