Ross Taylor reveals three toughest bowlers he has faced, includes two Sri Lankans in the list

Experienced New Zealand Ross Taylor has been a vital cog since breaking into the Kiwi side in 2006. 36-year-old Taylor recently became the first from any country to play 100 international matches in all three formats. Taylor also leapfrogged former Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming to become New Zealand’s leading run-scorer in Tests.

The past season was a season to remember for the New Zealand stalwart as he amassed 1389 runs in all formats of the game. Despite missing out on lifting the World Cup trophy by a thinnest of margins, Taylor’s batting expeditions earned him his third Sir Richard Hadlee Medal.

Talking about Taylor’s impressive batting stats, the middle-order batsman has amassed over 17,000 international runs while donning the Kiwi jersey in 101 Tests, 232 ODIs and 100 T20Is.

Taylor was a part of the ODI series against Australia, which was called off after the first game in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. Australia won that encounter by 71 runs and it turned out to be the last international cricket action.

Meanwhile, cricketers have been left with no choice but to spend time at home until the cricketing action resumes. Amid the pandemic situation, Ross Taylor was involved in a chat with Cricingif where he answered a plethora of questions.

Ross Taylor heaps praise on Dale Steyn’s pace and consistency

The right-hander, considering his vast experience, has faced many world-class bowlers during the course of his career. Taylor shortlisted three bowlers whom he found toughest to face in international cricket. The first name which Taylor picked was of Sri Lanka veteran Muttiah Muralitharan. The off-spinner, known for his variations, scalped over 1300 wickets during the course of his international career.

Taylor also picked another Sri Lanka veteran in his list– Lasith Malinga. Known for his toe-crushing yorkers and impeccable accuracy, Malinga is the only international bowler to pick four wickets on four balls on two occasions.

To finish off, Taylor picked South Africa’s Dale Steyn in his list. Despite being in the latter stage of his career, Steyn is still a fearful name in international cricket. The Proteas pacer was stoked to don the RCB jersey in IPL 2020 but the tournament was postponed indefinitely in the wake of COVID-19 debacle.

“Both Murali and Malinga are hard to pick up because of their unique bowling actions. Talking about Steyn, it’s obviously the pace and consistency which the pacer possesses,” said Taylor during the interview with Cricingif.

Here’s the video: