New Zealand batting great Ross Taylor bid farewell to his cricketing career as he played his last international match, as the Kiwis clean swept the Netherlands 3-0 by winning the third and final ODI by 115 runs. Taylor was the one to take the final catch to earn NZ the victory.
Ross Taylor, who had made his Black Caps debut in 2006, had called time on his career in January this year and played his final Test match against Bangladesh in Christchurch and had played his last T20I against West Indies in 2020. He was the first player to play 100 international matches in all three formats of the game.
Taylor played 112 Tests, making 7683 runs at an average of 44.66 and 19 centuries to his name, with the best score of 290. In 236 ODIs, Taylor made 8607 runs at an average of 47.55 with 21 centuries and the best score of 181*. In 102 T20Is, Taylor scored 1909 runs with 7 half-centuries and the best score of 63 at an average of 26.15.
In his last international match, Taylor managed 14 runs as centuries from Will Young (120) and Martin Guptill (106) took New Zealand to 333/8. The Netherlands managed just 218, with Matt Henry taking 4/36.
His former teammate and captain Brendon McCullum took to Twitter to congratulate him on a wonderful career.
He tweeted, ”Congrats mate @RossLTaylor You left it better than you found it. “Gather Ye..”May the next stage be as great as the last.”
Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar, the Indian batting legend, also paid rich tributes to Ross Taylor.
He posted on Twitter,” You’ve been a great ambassador of the game Ross! It was wonderful playing against you. The way you reinvented yourself over the years to adapt is an inspiration for all the young kids aspiring to be cricketers. Heartiest congratulations on a fabulous career.”
