'Hope I've got a few more in me' – Ross Taylor after 20th ODI ton

The New Zealand middle-order batsman enjoyed a special run in 2018. He featured in 11 ODIs scoring 639 runs at an exceptional average of 91.28 and he is continuing his brilliant form in 2019.

In the first eight days of 2019, Taylor has played three ODIs for his country – all against Sri Lanka. In the three-match series, which New Zealand swept 3-0, Taylor finished as the top-scorer with 281 runs at 93.67.

He registered scores of 54, 90 and 137. His century came in the final ODI, which New Zealand won by 115 runs after setting Sri Lanka a big target of 365 on Tuesday, 8 January in Nelson. That was Taylor's 20th ODI hundred, which is the most by a New Zealand batsman. Along the way, he also equalled his country's record of six consecutive ODI 50-plus scores.

The 34-year-old batsman was delighted to lead his side to a convincing victory, saying: "It was nice to get the 20th hundred, I would have taken that at the start of my career. I'm getting old, so hopefully, I've got a few more in me".

Taylor brought up his hundred with a single. After getting past the mark, he shifted gears and slammed all his four sixes before getting caught by Dhananjaya de Silva.

"I felt okay out there, I've been hitting the ball alright, and it felt nice to get three figures," he said. "More often than not in New Zealand conditions you've just got to give yourself a bit of time and you can catch up as we did today. It doesn't always work but it's nice when it does," he said of his approach.

Apart from Taylor, captain Kane Williamson with a measured half-century and Henry Nicholls with a fiery maiden ODI hundred also set the tone for New Zealand. Williamson scored a 65-ball 55 while Nicholls hit a quick 80-ball 124*, lifting their side to another 300-plus score.

"It's nice to contribute and it was nice to bat with Ross out there," said Nicholls, who shared a 154-run fourth-wicket stand with Taylor. "The consistency he has is testament to the experience and quality he has and it's great to be able to bat with him in the middle and see how he goes about it. I learn from that every time I bat or train with him.

"It's a credit to the way Ross and Kane set it up, and then we were able to continue that through the middle," Nicholls added. "The wicket early on was a little bit tacky but we knew it was getting better and better, so it was important that I was able to build that partnership with Ross, and nice to add that bit of cream on top."

Taylor was all praise of Nicholls and added that the latter batted "fantastically well".

"We know in New Zealand you can catch up later and I think we've done that very well in all three games. Do the donkey work through the middle and put the icing on the cake at the end.

"I thought he came out and was busy from ball one and set the tone, which made my job a lot easier. I'm sure it's going to be the first of many hundreds," he added.