Cricket: 'Speechless' Taylor set to impress at Napier

NAPIER - In a roundabout sort of way, Ross Taylor can thank Nathan Astle for his elevation into the New Zealand one-day squad.

The Central Districts rookie was last night still trying to come to terms with his promotion to full international honours, announced yesterday after New Zealand took an unassailable 3-0 series lead over the West Indies.

Taylor and Kyle Mills have been added to the squad for the last two matches at Napier (on Wednesday) and Auckland (Saturday), at the expense of opening batsman Jamie How and left-arm paceman James Franklin.

The moment the 21-year-old Taylor had been dreaming of arrived late on Saturday night when he found himself answering a phone call from legendary fast bowler and New Zealand selector Sir Richard Hadlee.

"I was speechless and at the same time I was pinching myself," he said yesterday. "It's been a childhood dream of mine since I was five.

"A lot of kids wanted to be an All Black - I've always wanted to be a Black Cap. Hopefully, if the chance comes around on Wednesday I'll take the opportunity with two hands."

While Taylor's call-up had been widely tipped for some stage of the season, the young left-hander effectively received his opportunity after New Zealand wrapped up the series on Saturday, courtesy of an Astle-fuelled 21-run win.

Axed twice during the first half of the summer, Astle propped up New Zealand's rather haphazard innings with a defiant 118, his 16th ODI century, including three successive sixes off the final over, and pushing the total through to 276 for six.

He then added the finishing touches with an extraordinary catch to send back Dwayne Smith, as the West Indies squandered yet another winning opportunity and were bowled out for 255 in the 49th over.

Taylor, a product of Palmerston North Boys High School and an age-group representative throughout his formative years, has been in prolific form this season, scoring 603 State Shield runs at an average of 67, and 246 State Championships runs at 47.

He said yesterday he was unsure who was the more excited about the call-up; he or his mum.

"I rang mum first, had to tell the family, they've been a big influence for me over my career and they were just stoked.

"I think mum was too busy telling other rellies at the same time. I had an Aunty and my Dad there when I rang, and my sisters, who should have been asleep, were up at 10.30pm. It's something I'll never forget."

Taylor said he'd received some solid support from outgoing Central teammate Jamie How who, like Franklin, has been sent back to domestic cricket so he can better prepare for the prospect of a test call-up.

"Jamie was good," he said. "He told me to trust myself and go out there and play like I've been playing. It's always hard to come in for a teammate, but it's an opportunity and I'm sure he'll be back playing in the tests against the West Indies."

Bracewell said yesterday that Taylor had earned his selection but rejected any talk of more experimentation, saying the team placed a priority on winning the remaining two matches at Napier and Auckland.

"That's the bottom line."

NZ SQUAD

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Peter Fulton, Brendon McCullum, Hamish Marshall, Michael Mason, Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent.