Nottinghamshire signs up Ross Taylor as an overseas specialist

Taylor recently notched up his highest ODI score.

Taylor scored his highest ODI score in Dunedin. (HT Media)

Ross Taylor, the experienced Kiwi middle-order batsman, has signed up to play for Nottinghamshire as their overseas player for the first half of the England domestic season, the club confirmed on Thursday(March 8). Taylor's stint with Nottinghamshire will be till the end of June, making him available to play eight County matches and all eight group games of the Royal London Cup. The 34-year-old could also feature in the knock-outs stages, including the final in case Nottinghamshire reach that far in the competition.

Expressing his happiness on his association with Nottinghamshire he said "I'm really excited about joining Nottinghamshire as they return to Division One of the Specsavers County Championship, and I hope I can play an important part in helping them become re-established at the higher level. It's also great to be joining a team who are defending a white ball trophy, with the club having won the Royal London One-Day Cup last summer, and hopefully the team can mount a strong challenge again."

"I've enjoyed playing against England for New Zealand in the early part of this year, and I'm looking forward to testing myself in the early-season English conditions when I arrive at Trent Bridge for the start of the new season," he added.

Mick Newell, the Nottinghamshire director of cricket, said the announcement was delayed a bit because the county side wanted to monitor the fitness of the New Zealand batsman, who suffered a a recurrence of a quad injury.

"With Ross suffering a recurrence of a previous quad injury in his century for New Zealand against England on Wednesday, we have been monitoring his fitness, which delayed the announcement of the signing by us. We will continue to check in with Ross and the New Zealand team's medical staff, but he's confident that he will be fully fit come the start of our season."

"Ross is a world-class performer who brings with him an excellent record at the highest level in both red and white ball cricket, as well as plenty of experience. He is just what we were looking for to strengthen the top order of our four-day batting line-up, where we have lost the likes of Michael Lumb and Brendan Taylor from last year, and his aggressive style suits the type of 50-over cricket we look to play," Newell concluded saying. 

Taylor is currently in the New Zealand squad which is playing an ODI series against England. He scored his highest score in Dunedin (181*) to help New Zealand draw level in the 5 match series. The decider will be played on Saturday in Christchurch. 

 
 

By Anshuman Roy - 08 Mar, 2018

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