Ross Taylor announced that he will be retiring from all forms of cricket after the 2022 home summer earlier today. Taylor was a vital figure for New Zealand and his presence will be missed especially in Tests. Let's have a look at his amazing journey as a cricketer.
A hard hitter of the cricket ball, Taylor made his international debut in March 2006, in an ODI against the West Indies. Nine months later, we saw Taylor hitting his maiden ODI ton against the Lankans in Napier.
Unfortunately, New Zealand still lost that match, courtesy of a gem of a knock by Sanath Jayasuriya. From the day, Taylor never looked behind, and scoring centuries wasn't a problem for him anymore.
In the Commonwealth Bank Series that followed the 2006-07 season, Taylor's batting seemed like a breath of fresh air but sadly, the Kiwis tasted defeat in that game too.
However, Taylor's maiden century came two years after his debut in March against England, a series where he also ended up as the top scorer.
Taylor's rise
March seemed like a prosperous month for Taylor as just a year later, Ross Taylor led New Zealand in an ODI after Daniel Vettori dropped out due to a health concern. The 2011 World Cup saw Taylor scoring his then highest individual score against Pakistan that too on his birthday.
He made a hefty contribution to the Kiwi total that scored 127 runs off the last nine overs. The ton made him only the fourth player to have scored a ton on his birthday.
Taylor played a very crucial role for New Zealand with his batting and his captaincy in all the formats. However, he backed all his qualities with numbers. Let's have a look at them.
Ross Taylor's Numbers
| Matches | Runs | Average | 100s/50s | Catches | Highest score |
| Test (109) | 7584 | 45.37 | 19/35 | 159 | 290 |
| ODI (233) | 8581 | 48.20 | 21/51 | 139 | 181* |
| T20I (102) | 1909 | 26.15 | 0/7 | 46 | 63 |
Taylor had a great combination of experience and runs in the business and he often saved New Zealand on multiple occasions. Taylor also played IPL from 2008 to 2013 and represented Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils, and Pune Warriors India as well.
Ross Taylor records
# Leading run-scorer in Tests and ODIs for New Zealand.
# The first player to play 100 matches in all formats of cricket.
# Most capped player for New Zealand (438)
# Highest run-scorer in away Tests for New Zealand.
# Highest run-scorer in Tests in Australia for New Zealand.
# First New Zealand batsman to score a 200 against Australia.
# Second fastest Kiwi to reach 5000 Test runs (144 Inns)
# Most ODI centuries for New Zealand (21)
# First New Zealand and only sixth player overall to score an ODI ton against all Test-playing nations.
# His 181* is the second-highest individual score for a no.4 batsman
# 4th New Zealand player to play 100 Tests
Taylor's energy on the field and his calm nature will be missed. Best of luck in the future. Stay tuned with Cricwizz for more updates.
Cover Credits: GooglyCricket
