'Never say never' - Tom Latham on chances of giving the ball to Ross Taylor in farewell series

New Zealand veteran batter Ross Taylor will bring down curtains on his long running international career after the end of the three-match ODI series against Netherlands, starting from March 29 (Tuesday).

At first, the Blackcaps will take on the Netherlands with a one-off T20I on March 25 (Friday) at Napier, which will be followed by the three ODIs, starting at Mount Maunganui followed by Hamilton hosting the final two matches. It is to be noted that this will be first time New Zealand will be facing the men in orange since the 1996 ODI World Cup, and eight years after their last T20I meeting in the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2014.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s stand-in skipper Tom Latham is eyeing a fitting farewell for the veteran batter in the same way he signed off from the red-ball format against Bangladesh in Christchurch earlier this year. To note, Taylor managed to scalp a wicket with his part-time off-spin against Bangladesh before signing off from Test cricket.

We will make sure he enjoys the next few games: Tom Latham

“I’m not sure if I’ll be giving him a ball in the series; I’ll never say never. But Ross has been a massive part of the side for such a long time in all three formats. Like I said, a great farewell and just finished his Test career a few months ago. I’m sure he’s looking forward to retirement; probably mixed emotions,” Latham was quoted by News18.

“But I think it’s important that we get around Ross this weekend, and make sure he enjoys the next few games that he has,” Latham added.

Talking about Taylor’s number in ODIs, the 38-year-old has played a total of 233 matches in which he has amassed 8576 runs at an average of 48.18. The batter has also stroked 51 half-centuries and 21 hundreds. Taylor has also played 102 T20I matches and has scored 1909 runs at a good strike rate of 122.37. He also has seven fifties in the 20-over format.