‘I've always said I want to get to the World Cup’ – Ross Taylor outlines career goals

There is barely a Blackcaps batting record that Taylor isn’t close to breaking or has broken already. His 36 international centuries is the most by a Blackcap while in terms of international runs he’s less than 400 runs behind Stephen Fleming in first place. His 85 caps put him one behind Richard Hadlee in fourth on the list of New Zealand Test appearances too. Taylor is 34 years old, and it’s already a career to be proud of. But he still has targets in mind, including next year’s Men’s Cricket World Cup, and the milestone of a century of Test caps, as long as his fitness holds up.

“I've always said I want to get to the World Cup,” Taylor said. “Obviously the Boxing Day Test in Australia is a nice incentive also. I wouldn't mind playing 100 Tests. But that is still a long way away and I've got to get these hammies and calves and rest of the body in some decent shape to hopefully get there.”

That’s not to say the thought of retirement hasn’t crossed Taylor’s mind, but he still thinks he might have as many as ‘2-3 years at international level’ left in him.

“Some days you've got to be honest and you think you're close to retiring, and some days you feel like you could still play for 2-3 years at international level. You're a long time retired and you don't want to make any rash decisions on form or emotion.”

Taylor has been a star in all formats for New Zealand during his career, and doesn’t feel that focussing on just one now could prolong his career. “I want to play as many games for New Zealand as possible. The day you just play one format, or even two, your level of performance will probably drop a bit.

"You might be in and out of the side, but facing the touring team regardless of the format helps you out. Also just being in the New Zealand set-up and that higher level of training compared with domestic cricket where the resources aren't quite the same."

Taylor now stands alone as the most experienced player in the Blackcaps set-up, and as new head coach Gary Stead beds in, his seniority has mattered more than ever. Taylor has been impressed with Stead’s efforts so far, with the former New Zealand batsman even able to offer the current one some batting tips.

"It's exciting times having a new voice and my dealings with him already, he's very hands on compared to Hess,” Taylor said. I'm looking forward to working with him. Already he's had a chat to me about batting and he'll work well with [batting coach Craig McMillan].

“A batting coach overseeing 15 or 16 players can be quite daunting and he'll take a lot of pressure off Macca and bring his own experiences as an international player. I'm sure it'll be good for the team and myself.”

New Zealand’s next assignment is to tour the UAE. It’s known as one of the toughest places to tour, with harsh temperatures and a Pakistan side who know the conditions inside out to deal with. Last time out, New Zealand performed creditably, tying the Test series and claiming the ODI series 3-2. It may well be the last time Taylor tours the UAE. He’ll be desperate to leave with something to savour.