New Zealand’s middle-order batter Ross Taylor received a great reception when he walked out to bat in the first innings of his final Test at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Saturday.
The Blackcaps veteran recently announced his retirement from international cricket, stating that the ongoing series against Bangladesh, which will take his tally of Test appearances to 112, will be his last in the longest format of the game.
The video of him walking to the crease in the first innings of the opening Test was shared by the Blackcaps on their Twitter handle. “A great reception for @RossLTaylor from the Bay Oval as he comes out to bat for the first time in his final Test series for New Zealand,” the New Zealand Cricket Board captioned their post.
A great reception for @RossLTaylor from the Bay Oval as he comes out to bat for the first time in his final Test series for New Zealand. Follow play LIVE in NZ with @sparknzsport. #NZvBAN pic.twitter.com/nDNKpauEGL
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) January 1, 2022
Taylor’s knock, however, was cut short by left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam. The 37-year-old returned to the pavilion after scoring 31 runs in the first innings.
Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to field first. Notably, Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo had said on the eve of the first Test that his side will try to make Taylor’s farewell to Test cricket “as miserable as possible.”
“We know he’s a quality player and a lot of bowlers will be glad to not have to bowl to him anymore,” Domingo had said.
“We want to try to make sure he doesn’t have a great send-off — we want to make sure his send-off is as miserable as possible.”
Taylor is New Zealand’s highest run-scorer in both Tests and One Day internationals, and Domingo expects that Wellington-born will want to finish his cricketing career in a blaze of glory. “We know we have to bowl well to get him out these next couple of weeks because he’ll be determined to finish off well,” the coach added.
