Sometimes tears express more than words ever could.
That was certainly the case yesterday at the SCG. Where hours after going past Stephen Fleming as NZ’s highest ever Test run scorer, Ross Taylor tried to explain how Martin Crowe stirred in him a belief that the record could one day be his.
The 35-year-old went past Fleming’s 7172 runs with a lofted drive off Nathan Lyon for three, not that he knew in the moment.
“I didn’t want to get too excited until I knew what they were clapping for, I knew I was close,” Taylor said.
Taylor recounted how he called his mentor Crowe, who died in 2016 from cancer, at the start of his career before he was even a Test cricketer.
“When I started, I hadn’t played a Test and,” Taylor began, before trailing off as the tears began to flow.
After a period trying to gather himself, Taylor continued.
“Cause I hadn’t played a Test, I rang my mentor Martin Crowe and that was one of the records he wanted me to beat,” he continued before the display of emotion became too much.
Earlier, Taylor said he would celebrate the achievement in a way his late mentor and wine aficionado would have approved.
“I got a lovely bottle of Penfolds in the changing room before, I’m sure in time I’ll open them up,” Taylor said.
In an admission that seems mystifying considering he’s now New Zealand’s highest Test run scorer, Taylor admitted he never thought he’d be a good Test cricketer.
“I always thought I was a good one-day player, I never really thought, I was happy to play one Test to be fair,” he said.
Taylor also admitted it was a relief to go past Fleming in his 99 th Test, with the prospect of needing a few runs to break the record against India at the Basin Reserve in February in his 100 th Test match an uneasy proposition.
“Hundredth Test next Test so it’s nice to not have to worry about that,” Taylor said.
“Going back to my 200 th (ODI), a lot of family and friends, tickets, adding to needing one or two runs it might have been a twitchy game in the 100 th , I just want to go out there and enjoy it.”
“India is a fantastic country to play against, Basin Reserve, if the body holds up before then, it will be a special moment I’m sure for my family and friends.”
With his 36 th birthday looming in March, Taylor wouldn’t entertain thoughts of retirement.
“I still feel like I’m good enough to play at this level, still feel like I’ve got something to offer the team and NZ Cricket and the youngsters coming through,” he said.
“I don’t want to hang on just to play cricket, I still feel like I want to earn the right in the side and still good enough to play.”
Hours after going past Stephen Fleming as NZ’s highest Test run scorer, Taylor tried to explain how his late mentor stirred in him a belief the record could one day be his.
“(I) Didn’t score as many runs as I would have liked but it wasn’t that long ago that I did score some runs, I’ve still got a lot of cricket to come in the home summer and hopefully I can contribute to a lot more wins.”
“Records are meant to be broken, Flem (Stephen Fleming) has set a very high standard and I guess for me it’s trying to get as many runs before I do retire to give Kane to chase,” he said.
“He’s had a fantastic record, (will) go down as one of our greatest ever cricketers, we need him to have something to strive for in time and hopefully in however many years down the track there’s a youngster can chase 9000, 11000 runs that Kane gets to.”
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