Ross Taylor's eye test works wonders at the WACA
Before his record-breaking 290 in the WACA Test, Ross Taylor revealed that he had to get treatment in his left eye, as he couldn’t see clearly, reports ESPN Cricinfo.
After the first Test, Taylor said he had to undertake treatment of a pterygium in his left eye, which is a benign growth, often referred to as surfer’s eye. All it took was a few eye drops and the 31-year-old was all set to make the highest score by a visiting batsman in Australia.
“I had to get my eyes tested in between,” Taylor said. "I couldn't really see the ball so the eye drops obviously worked. I have a pterygium in my left eye and I do that a lot [open eyes].
“The optometrist said when it's dark you'll probably do this a lot [opens eyes] and I told the boys and they lost it because that's how they take the mickey out of me."
That wasn’t the only issue Taylor had to overcome during his marathon innings. When New Zealand were touring Zimbabwe in August, Taylor suffered a serious blow to the testicles for which he required surgery and is still under doctor’s orders to not get hit for another two months.
“Yes, for four months, try to not get hit - it's an interesting thing to tell a player," he said, when asked about the injury. “I think I’ve got about two months to go so I’m counting down. It’s good to be hitting balls again but there's no discomfort. It's a bit nerve wracking when 160kph is coming at you but once you get into the fight the adrenalin kicks in and the instincts take over and you just bat.”
He also admitted that perhaps he trained too hard leading up to the ongoing Test series against Australia. "I was out of the game for six weeks, I couldn't do anything," he said. "I was anxious, it's a big tour and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves and I wanted to do well and was a bit underdone and all at sea.
"I trained pretty hard leading in but sometimes when you try too hard you don't get the results. Leading into this I let it all go to see where it took me.I'd put too much pressure on myself so I just relaxed, got on the balls of my feet and played straight. Chalk and cheese from where I was a week ago.”
On world-class Williamson
“Not only this series but the last 18-24 months every format of the game outstanding, consistent in way he prepares, his process is very meticulous," Taylor said of Kane Williamson. “It’s great for the Australian public to see a world-class batter. You don't often say that in New Zealand, good example for other batters.
“Not a lot of words out there but know you're going to have to work hard to get his wicket. He took a lot of pressure off me at start. For such a young man to achieve what he has achieved, it's only the start.”
Facing Starc’s thunderbolts
Not only did Taylor have to battle through time, he also had to face Mitchell Starc’s fiery spell. On the second day, he faced the second-fastest delivery in the history of Tests, a yorker that was clocked at 160.4 kmph.
“Starc had his tail up. Fortunately we had a little bit of luck. It was very fast and hostile and both (he and McCullum) survived seven overs straight with the new ball in those conditions, it's not easy. I'm sure that would have taken a lot out of him.
"I was disappointed not to get 300, but if you'd said at the start of the day I would have been close, I would have taken it. I feel a bit happier that Boulty didn't get out because he was so nervous out there, if he'd got out and I was close that could have broken him for a few years.”