"We’d obviously love to end Ross Taylor's Test career on a high" - Tom Latham
New Zealand's stand-in captain Tom Latham intends to end Ross Taylor's Test career on a winning note in the second Test against Bangladesh. Tom Latham admitted New Zealand will miss him as he has been a terrific player for the Kiwis over the years.
Ross Taylor, New Zealand's highest Test run-getter, pre-announced that he will retire after the conclusion of the ongoing series against Bangladesh. The 37-year old has been the lynchpin of New Zealand's batting across formats for a decade now, amassing over 15000 international runs.
Speaking ahead of the second Test in Christchurch, Tom Latham acknowledged Ross Taylor's contributions to New Zealand cricket. Latham added he would want nothing less than a fairytale ending for Taylor. The left-handed opener hopes to see Taylor get some big runs in his swansong match.
"He’s been a great servant for New Zealand Cricket and for us we’d obviously love to end his test career on a high. It’s going to be weird not having him at first slip or having him be around the team. I’m sure he’ll be looking to play the game right and try to play our brand of cricket this week, then hopefully we can celebrate a nice test win and a great career as well," Latham stated, as quoted by stuff.co.nz.
Bangladesh consigned the Kiwis to a rare home Test loss in Mount Maunganui and sealed a famous win by eight wickets. Taylor batted well for his 31 and 40. However, it was not enough to prevent a defeat. It has left the hosts with a must-win game at Hagley Oval.
"We’ve seen here that most teams win the toss and bowl first" - Tom Latham
Meanwhile, the keeper-batter addressed the conditions in Christchurch, saying the toss wouldn't matter significantly. He stressed acclimatizing to the conditions as a requisite to winning the game.
"We’ve seen here that most teams win the toss and bowl first, but I certainly don’t think it’s a win the toss and win the game type surface. We’ve won when we’ve been put in. For us whatever we do first up it’s important we adapt to the conditions and we try and start really well."
The hosts last lost a Test at the venue in 2016 against Australia.