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Spinners hold key for Test success - Taylor

05 Aug 2019 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}      

New Zealand’s senior batsman Ross Taylor believes that the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka where they will play two Tests and three T20Is will give the Black Caps an opportunity to recover from the 2019 ICC World Cup final heartbreak.


The two-match series will also give them their first taste of the inaugural World Test Championship.


“The Test Championship is exciting and just going over to Sri Lanka and playing Test cricket ... it’s a pretty hard place to play but we’ve had success in the past and hopefully we can have success in the coming weeks,” Taylor said.


“I’m excited. The Test Championship is a new concept. Names and numbers on your backs but Tests need something different and I believe this can give it a bit of a kick-start and liven-it up.”


Taylor said his team won’t take anything for granted against Sri Lanka.


“We’re going out there to win first and foremost. Every game has something on it with the Test Championship. If you are good enough to be in the top two and make that final then we’ve done our job.”


The Kiwis have included four spinners - Mitchell Santner, Todd Astle, Will Somerville and Ajaz Patel - in their 15-man squad but Taylor expects pacers to play a key role as well.


“Obviously spin is going to play a bit part,” he said. “We’ve played in the subcontinent a lot in the last little while and hopefully our experiences and the success we’ve had can translate into some wins over there as well.”


“You’ve just got to take it series by series. We’ve picked four spinners but the team is a very settled line-up. But don’t underestimate how pace plays a part.”


“We won there in 2012 and it was pace that did the majority of the damage. We’ve just got to assess the conditions once we get over there.” 


(Agencies)