After heartbreak of 2019 World Cup, winning WTC is definitely the highlight: New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor

By ANI

AUCKLAND: New Zealand middle-order batsman Ross Taylor on Wednesday said winning the World Test Championship (WTC) is one of the biggest highlights of his career.

The Kiwis had suffered a heartbreaking loss at the hands of England in the 2019 World Cup final after the 50-over action and Super Over ended as a tie. However, earlier this month, New Zealand managed to change its fortunes as the side defeated India in the WTC final by eight wickets to take the Test mace home.

“I guess at the start of my career, there were a few ups and downs. We played in a few inconsistent sides, but, no, I guess over the last few years, the team has built into a fantastic consistent side and after the heartbreak of the 2019 World Cup, this is definitely the highlight and I think probably makes up for that,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Taylor as saying.

“After the heartbreak of 2019, it was nice to finally be out there and be there with Kane and go and celebrate it with a lot of guys — BJ [BJ Watling], Boulty [Trent Boult], Tim [Southee], a lot of guys who have been in this team and experienced a lot of highs and lows over a long period of time,” he added.

Talking about the WTC final, Taylor said: “Once the winning runs were hit, walking off with Willamson and the discussions afterwards, it’s something that I’ll never forget. It was still touch and go when I went out there to bat; to get through that hard period and Kane’s been a fantastic captain and ambassador for the game and our country. And for him to be out there and on that last ball before, he sort of gave me a stare: ‘hurry up and finish it so that he doesn’t have to. So it was nice to hit the boundary and celebrate what was a tough match with a lot of hard work over the last two or so years.”

“It was just nice to have been there. But, I think, I’ve seen the photo a lot. A lot of people have sent it to me and I think the photo of Kane and I come off probably speaks louder than words. The photo says it all, I think. Obviously, we were very happy with what we had achieved but also there was a little bit of relief in there too that we were finally able to get one across the line,” he added.

When asked about retiring from international cricket, Taylor said: “It’s still sinking in that we can call ourselves world champions, but I’m still loving the game of cricket. I still want to learn and still get better, so that’s a good sign. But, yeah, at this stage I just want to keep playing cricket, whatever level that is, for as long as I can.”

“New Zealanders for whatever reason retire at 34 or 35, and once I got to 37 I can understand why they do — you get asked the question a lot, your age comes into question a lot more when you do things exactly the same as what you were doing two years ago, but you’re doing them wrong because of your age which is sometimes a bit hard to swallow. Regardless of when I do pull up stumps, I still feel like I can play domestic cricket, I still love playing for my country and I still love playing for Central Districts as well,” he added.