Taylor vs. WIlliamson

[Bahnz]

Will he even make it to 100 tests with NZ's just superlative schedule? Every year I get more nervous for him reaching the mark.

Probably not. NZ have just 10 more tests scheduled before the next world cup. Even if Taylor plays all of them (and judging by how much pain he was in at Dunedin I tend to think he'll miss the day-night test at the very least), he'll get nowhere near it. If Taylor were to stick around for one more home season he might just about make it - the current FTP has NZ scheduled to play another 5 tests in the 2nd half of 2019, and there's rumours that NZ is being lined up by CA to replace the Windies for the 2019 Boxing Day test. But my suspicion is that post CWC, Ross will be looking to make some fast T20 $ before his body gives out, and playing in the 2019/20 season for NZ would mean foregoing the BBL.

 

[SteveNZ]

I think I'm as much chance of getting to 100 Tests as Ross. I just can't see how his body will last. I was surprised to see he's signed for Notts in the County Championship, he is going to play a lot of cricket in the next 12-16 months if mostly fit. And yeah, as Bah said I wouldn't begrudge him going the T20 cash route post World Cup.

 

[thierry henry]

For all the talk about him turning the corner following the eye operation(s) his stats in ODI and test cricket never really dwindled- that's been exaggerated a bit. Actually there was a bit of a weird recurring phenomena between 2014-2017 where overall he was pretty much steadily improving as a player (in terms of the scores he was churning out) but there was a perception that he was getting worse (because it genuinely looked like he was).

 

[TheJediBrah]

I love NZ cricket fans on here. Lose a game or 2 and they'll be bemoaning the end of the world for pages on end in several threads. Win a game and someone makes a good innings they'll be treated as a god and have threads dedicated in their honour. Never change guys

 

[Bahnz]

In tests Taylor was horribly uneven in terms of his output between 2014 and 2016. His average during that period was about 45, but that was with some absurdly cheap runs scored against Zimbabwe factored in. Account for that, and has average was only 35, and even that was mainly driven by that 290 at Perth. Overall, it was definitely a bad period for him by his standards, even if he did play a couple of superb innings during that time (the 290, as well as his match and series saving hundred at Dubai).

 

[straw man]

I love NZ cricket fans on here. Lose a game or 2 and they'll be bemoaning the end of the world for pages on end in several threads. Win a game and someone makes a good innings they'll be treated as a god and have threads dedicated in their honour. Never change guys

That's NZ fan lyf

 

[straw man]

In tests Taylor was horribly uneven in terms of his output between 2014 and 2016. His average during that period was about 45, but that was with some absurdly cheap runs scored against Zimbabwe factored in. Account for that, and has average was only 35, and even that was mainly driven by that 290 at Perth. Overall, it was definitely a bad period for him by his standards, even if he did play a couple of superb innings during that time (the 290, as well as his match and series saving hundred at Dubai).

He was absolutely awful when we toured India. And yeah, in tests over that period he did a lot of beating up on bad bowlers, whereas Williamson did a lot less of that and scored more against better attacks.

Taylor seems to be exceptionally focused right now whereas at times in the last few years he's belied his maturity - walking round the crease and swiping in tests, very lazy runout not grounding his bat in India series, getting front-on, squared up all the time and not correcting that flaw for ages. That last one is a thing he's improved enormously recently - you just don't notice it any more.

He's batting like a dream at the moment - long may it continue.

 

[thierry henry]

In tests Taylor was horribly uneven in terms of his output between 2014 and 2016. His average during that period was about 45, but that was with some absurdly cheap runs scored against Zimbabwe factored in. Account for that, and has average was only 35, and even that was mainly driven by that 290 at Perth. Overall, it was definitely a bad period for him by his standards, even if he did play a couple of superb innings during that time (the 290, as well as his match and series saving hundred at Dubai).

yeah tbf it was probably more ODIs where my point applies (and where he was playing the most cricket so it probably stuck with me more).

He really has looked scratchy for 3-4 years in limited overs cricket but continuously finds ways to make runs and big runs at that. Since the last operation it's like the eye-test (excuse the pun) finally matches the output.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

It has long baffled me as to why Ross Taylor didn't receive a lot more credit in his home nation, glad to see that is changing. In addition to his eye issues I tend to believe the captaincy saga weighed him down for a long time, even as recently as that India tour where McCullum felt the need to take puerile cheap shots at Taylor in his autobiography, but he is well and truly back to his peak now.

 

[Athlai]

I love NZ cricket fans on here. Lose a game or 2 and they'll be bemoaning the end of the world for pages on end in several threads. Win a game and someone makes a good innings they'll be treated as a god and have threads dedicated in their honour. Never change guys

You'll probably find that for the most part certain NZ fans get louder when we are doing well (myself) and others get louder when we're doing poorly (everyone else).

 

[Flem274*]

He's said publicly he wants to play on after 2019 and I think he will if he gives up ODIs. He's not dying guys, he can manage the couple of tests a year we play.

 

[harsh.ag]

More players should think about taking the Tests + T20 leagues route.

 

[The Hutt Rec]

He’s only had a few muscle strains, not like he’s got dodgy knees or shoulder problems or anything ... I wouldn’t think any of his injuries would hold him back from continuing playing. I think he’ll be around well into the 2020s.