I don't think he is.He is though. Imagine the utter gall of the selectors to drop Taylor before he wants to go out triumphantly at home.
Mitchell or whoever coming in. There would have been riots in the streets.
Drop Nicholls before Taylor. The Boss goes out, bat in hand.
No one is bigger than the need to win the next Test or series. Obviously there's a vast importance in how you'd do it, but if Ross Taylor isn't in our best XI and is no longer able to make the contribution to our side that we require, he'd need to be left out. If you want to make WTC finals, you've got to not only put your best side out, but be building towards winning Tests over the next 24 months, too.
Given Kane isn't likely to play this summer, there's probably a reprieve for Ross. Regardless of how poorly he's playing, you don't want both of those guys to not play - especially against SA. But past that, the question becomes who is the best equipped to score runs for NZ, now and into the future? And there's a fair chance that is 29-year-old Will Young, not 38-year-old Ross Taylor.
If Nicholls is being dropped, his spot goes to Mitchell at 5.