New Zealand’s great batter Ross Taylor has decided to come out of international cricket retirement at 41. However, he will not be playing for New Zealand, for whom he played from 2006 to 2022, but for Samoa.
Taylor, who holds a Samoan passport from his mother’s side, will represent the team in the upcoming Asia-East Asia-Pacific T20 World Cup 2026 qualifier in Oman, which could help them qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
He has also completed the three-year standoff period, as his last game for New Zealand was in April 2022.
"It's official—I'm proud to announce that I'll be pulling on the blue and representing Samoa in cricket. This is more than just a return to the game I love—it's the huge honor to represent my heritage, culture, villages, and family. I'm excited for the opportunity to give back to the game, join the squad, and share my experience on and off the field,” Taylor wrote on his Instagram.
Taylor played 112 Tests, 236 ODIs, and 102 T20Is between 2006 and 2022, scoring 7683, 8607, and 1909 runs, respectively, in the three formats for New Zealand.
Taylor said he was excited to turn out to play for the country of his mother's birth, though he was expecting a coaching role with Samoa.
“Yeah, I’m excited. It’s been a few months in the pipeline, but obviously the team just got announced today, so I had to make it exciting to represent the country of my mother’s birth. I always thought it would be more in coaching and other avenues. I never thought I’d play, but as the opportunity arose, yeah, looking forward to getting out there and hopefully representing and doing my best for Samoa.”
Taylor admitted that his return to international cricket is going to be anything but easy.
“Yeah, I obviously haven’t played a lot of cricket like we used to, so it’d be a bit of a shock to the system. But I’ve played in some tournaments, so it’s not as if I’ve gone three or four years without having played. But, yeah, I need to get up to speed as quickly as I can. But that was the other thing that was nice to be able to do: train for a month or so, a couple of months, just to see how the body reacted and hopefully, not what it used to be at 41, but hopefully it’s good enough,” he added.
The last chance for Samoa to earn a spot in the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup is the ICC T20 World Cup Asia-East Asia Pacific Qualifier. Taylor might make his Samoan debut against Oman on October 8.
