His final outing for the Kiwis came in April 2022.
New Zealand legend Ross Taylor has reversed his retirement from international cricket and will be back on the field again. The catch, however, is that he won’t represent Blackcaps, for whom he played all his career across formats.
Taylor will represent Samoa in the upcoming T20 World Cup Asia-Pacific qualifying series in Oman later this year. Samoa is his mother’s native country, and the 41-year-old became eligible to play for them after serving a three-year waiting period, having last donned the New Zealand jersey in 2022.
“Coming out of retirement. It’s official – I’m proud to announce that I’ll be pulling on the blue and representing Samoa in cricket. This is more than just a return to the game I love — it’s the huge honour to represent my heritage, culture, villages, and family.”
Taylor holds a Samoan passport through his mother’s heritage, and his presence will definitely bolster the team’s chances in the qualifying series, which begins on October 8. Samoa are the third representative from East Asia-Pacific, alongside Papua New Guinea and Japan, in a nine-team tournament that includes other nations such as Oman, Nepal, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, and the UAE, as they fight for three spots in the T20 World Cup 2026.
Ross Taylor has been among the finest players ever to represent New Zealand in their cricketing history, playing in 450 games for the Kiwis across three formats. He featured in 112 Tests, scoring 7683 runs at an average of 44.66 in 196 innings, including 35 fifties and 19 centuries.
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He played 236 ODIs and accumulated 8607 runs at an average of 47.55 and an 83.32 strike rate in 220 outings, comprising 51 half-centuries and 21 centuries. Additionally, Taylor also played 102 T20Is, scoring 1909 runs at an average of 26.15 and a strike rate of 122.37 in 94 innings, which includes seven fifties.
He was part of some of the finest moments in New Zealand cricket, including the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021 final, where the Blackcaps beat India to clinch their second ICC trophy. He was in New Zealand’s side in the World Cup 2019, where the team agonisingly ended as runners-up, and the T20 World Cup 2016, where his side reached the semifinal.
His final outing for the Kiwis came in April 2022, when he retired from the international arena after an ODI game against the Netherlands at home. He couldn’t win any ICC events in white-ball cricket for New Zealand, but hopes to propel Samoa to the T20 World Cup 2026, which will be a massive achievement for a rising country.
Caleb Jasmat, Ross Taylor, Darius Visser, Sean Solia, Daniel Burgess, Douglas Finau, Sam French, Kurtis Hynam-Nyberg, Ben Mailata, Noah Mead, Solomon Nash, Samson Sola, Fereti Sululoto, Saumani Tiai, and Ili Tugaga.
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