Ross Taylor

Luteru Ross Poutoa Lote Taylor (born 8 March 1984) is a former New Zealand international cricketer and former captain of the New Zealand national team.

Batting predominantly at number four, when he announced his retirement from international cricket at the end of 2021, he was the leading run-scorer for New Zealand in Test and One Day International cricket.

Taylor was born on 8 March 1984 in Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

He is the son of Neil Taylor and Naoupu Lote-Taylor.

His father is originally from Masterton and his mother is a Samoan from Saluafata on the island of Upolu.

He carries the hereditary Samoan language title of leaupepe from the village of Fasito'o Uta.

Taylor was introduced to cricket by his father, but also grew up playing kilikiti, the traditional Samoan variant of cricket.

He was educated at Wairarapa College and Palmerston North Boys High School and was a hockey player before shifting his focus to cricket.

Taylor first played for the New Zealand under-19 side in January 2001.

He played under-19 Test and One Day International matches and captained the side.

He played matches for MCC Young Cricketers between 2002 and 2004, including in the Second Eleven Trophy, and played club cricket for Norwich Wanderers in the Norfolk Cricket League in 2004.

He played under-17 and under-19 cricket for the side and Hawke Cup cricket for Manawatu, before making his senior debut in January 2003 in a State Shield one-day match against Canterbury.

He was a member of the New Zealand Cricket Academy and played for the New Zealand A side in 2003/04 and 2004/05.

He made his first-class cricket debut against the same side later in the same month and placed his first Twenty20 cricket match in January 2006 in the inaugural New Zealand Twenty20 Competition.

Taylor made his full international debut for New Zealand on 1 March 2006, in a one-day match against the West Indies.

He became the second male player of Samoan heritage to play for New Zealand after Murphy Su'a.

He scored only 15 runs in the match.

Taylor is a clean striker of the ball, particularly any ball through leg side, and a useful off-break bowler.

Taylor scored his maiden one day century in front of a delighted crowd in Napier, playing against Sri Lanka on 28 December 2006.

The innings included 12 fours and 6 sixes.

Unluckily for him, New Zealand were comprehensively beaten in that game, by a blistering knock by Sanath Jayasuriya.

He also suffered dehydration and required a short hospital trip during the second innings.

Taylor was signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2008 Indian Premier League before moving to Rajasthan Royals in the 2011 league auction and in 2012 joined Delhi Daredevils for a season before being traded to Pune Warriors India for Ashish Nehra ahead of the 2013 season.

In the 2009–10 HRV Cup Final against Auckland, Taylor scored a match-winning 80 runs off 30 balls; he added 133 runs from 53 balls in a partnership with Kieran Noema-Barnett and hit Michael Bates for 27 runs in one over, including three consecutive sixes.

In total Taylor hit eight sixes and five fours.

In February 2021, during the 2020–21 Ford Trophy, Taylor played in his 300th List A match.

Taylor played club cricket in England during his early career.

In 2009/10 he played for Vctoria in the Australian Big Bash competition before playing English county cricket for Durham in the 2010 Friends Provident T20 tournament, his most substantial contribution being 80 not out from only 33 balls, including three fours and nine sixes.

Taylor married Victoria in 2011.

They have three children.

Taylor plays domestically for Central Districts.

He played for Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel in the 2013 and 2014 editions of the Caribbean Premier League and for St Lucia Zouks in 2015.

He returned to play for Delhi in the 2014 season.

In 2016 and 2017, he played for Sussex and for Nottinghamshire in 2018.

He returned to the league for the 2018 competition, playing for Jamaica Tallawahs before appearing for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the 2020 Caribbean Premier League.

Taylor was a key member of the New Zealand team that won the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship, where he scored the winning boundary in the final.

He joined Middlesex for the 2019 Royal London One-day Cup competition.

In February 2020, Taylor played his 100th Test match for New Zealand, becoming the first cricketer to play in 100 matches in all three formats of international cricket.

In December 2020, in the first Test against Pakistan, Taylor became the most-capped player for New Zealand in international cricket, playing in his 438th match across all three formats, surpassing Daniel Vettori; in December 2021, he announced that he would retire from international cricket after the one-day series against Australia and the Netherlands in early 2022.

On 4 April 2022, Taylor played in his 450th and final international match for New Zealand, his last match being an ODI against the Netherlands.