Cricket: Taylor looking to build momentum

Ross Taylor
Ross Taylor
Today's warm-up match against Zimbabwe is the first step in building on the momentum gained from the recent test victory over Australia, says New Zealand XI captain Ross Taylor.

The Blacks Caps skipper features in a composite of veterans and youngsters to take on Zimbabwe over three days in Gisborne starting this  morning.

There are a number of intriguing sub-plots in the game, the most interesting the battle between BJ Watling and Kruger van Wyk for the wicketkeeping duties in next week's test, but it will also be a chance for New Zealand coach John Wright to take a closer look at promising players like Michael Bracewell, Sam Wells and Tarun Nethula as well as Neil Wagner, the South African-born bowler who qualifies for this country in April.

"These games are a good opportunity for the youngsters to get international experience,'' Taylor said. "I'm sure they'll learn a lot over the next few days.''

A handful of New Zealand's players will, too, with Taylor joined in the side by Daniel Vettori, Chris Martin, Kane Williamson ,Watling and Van Wyk who have been included in the test squad.

Taylor, as New Zealand captain, he had the option of whether to play in the New Zealand XI match.

"I wanted to play,'' he said. "It's a good opportunity for us to come out and play with the red ball. There's been a lot of white-ball cricket in the last little while. Going from Twenty20 to test cricket is not the easiest.

"It's nice to be able to go out there and take your time and get a bit of a feel for some of the bowlers. We didn't see some of their bowlers when we were over there [last year].''

One they are wary of is left-arm pace bowler Brian Vitori, who missed the test against New Zealand in November because of injury but has made an immediate impact on the international scene.

He took 5-30 on his one-day international debut against Bangladesh - the best figures by a Zimbabwean on debut - and followed it up with 5-20 in the next match.

He bustles into the wicket and bowls at a lively pace and is expected to form part of Zimbabwe's new-ball attack for some time.

The Black Caps are expected to beat Zimbabwe in next week's test, and most are more interested in the three-test series against South Africa later in the summer, but Taylor was trying not to look too far ahead.

"Zimbabwe is our first assignment and this warm- up game,'' he said. "We want to build on the momentum from the win over Australia where we captured the public's imagination.

"We are trying to be consistent in our performances and playing well against Zimbabwe will go a long way to doing that.

"The win we had in [the second test against Australia in] Hobart was one we can use to boost the profile of the team. As a team we love playing test cricket and we want to get more wins.

"We are currently ranked eighth in the ICC test rankings. I'm sure with some good performance over this summer we can get up the rankings.''

- Wynsley Wrigley of the Gisborne Herald

Add a Comment

OUTSTREAM