Cricket: How Ross Taylor coped with losing the captaincy

Ross Taylor at a press conference. Photo / Getty

Ross Taylor has opened up on how he coped with the loss of the New Zealand captaincy three years ago.

Taylor had the captaincy taken away in Sri Lanka in 2012 and given to Brendon McCullum. A splitting of the leadership was mooted, and declined.

In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Taylor revealed he was struggling for sleep each night around the time of the decision by coach Mike Hesson.

In his final test in charge, Taylor guided New Zealand to a memorable 167-run win in Colombo, hitting 142 and 74.

''When the captaincy issue happened, I was only sleeping for a couple of hours a night for two weeks leading into that, and I had to bat pretty much a day in Sri Lanka," Taylor told ESPNcricinfo.

''That more than anything showed me I didn't need sleep, or that you are going to be tired, but your mental strength has to take over.

''From that point of view Colombo was just as hot and probably muggier (than Perth last week), and to have batted that long on two hours' sleep each night for two weeks just shows you the mental strength you can gather from previous experiences."

Taylor, fresh from his epic and record-setting 290 against Australia in Perth, seriously thought of giving the game away. Conversations with his mentor Martin Crowe helped.

''It was what I wanted to do since I was a little kid, and there's only one New Zealand team you can play for, so it was a pretty easy decision," Taylor said.

''To say that it's been an easy ride since would be naive and an understatement, but it's definitely satisfying when you have innings like the other day."

Taylor can now see his own strengths and where his leadership had weak spots.

''Whether you're a captain, a rookie, a batter or a bowler, you've got to do your job well.

''When I was captain I found it was easier to talk to the group when you're scoring runs.

It's quite tough when you're not scoring runs to put on a front and put that facade up that you've still got everything under control.

''Some people do it well, they can not score runs and still say the big words, all the big speeches, but I was never that person.

''I've played in New Zealand teams where I've been the senior batter and felt a lot of responsibility. Over the last 24 to 36 months it's been nice to have a few other players step up."

- By David Leggat in Adelaide