Ross Taylor: Kiwis ready to tackle India at home after Australia whitewash

Taylor hopes New Zealand can turn it around against India in familiar conditions of home after the 3-0 Test series defeat in Australia.

Ross Taylor... “Now we’re back on home soil and India will be a totally different opposition [as compared to Australia].”

New Zealand lacklustre performance against Australia still fresh in his mind, batsman Ross Taylor is hoping the Black Caps will turn it around on home turf when they take on India in the upcoming limited-overs and Test series.

New Zealand lost the Test series 3-0 to its Trans-Tasman rival recently. India, on the other hand, will go into the tour on the back of resounding home ODI series victory over Australia.

“We were completely outplayed in all facets of the game throughout the whole series (against Australia) but now we’re back on home soil and India will be a totally different opposition,” Taylor was quoted as saying by the local media here after a practice session.

Familiar conditions

“They’re the No. 1 team in the world, but we’re obviously in conditions that we know, so let’s get through the white-ball phase first before we get on to talking about [Tests],” Taylor added.

India’s tour of New Zealand will begin with the T20 series in Auckland from Friday. It will be followed by the ODIs and Tests. The New Zealand batsman also talked about the challenge all cricketing sides will face in Australia when it hosts the T20 World Cup later this year.

“It’s the first time a T20 World Cup is there and you watch the Big Bash, there are big boundaries so you are going to have to skin the cat differently than how you play in New Zealand and other parts of the world,” he said.

Impact of T20

Much has been said about the negative impact of T20 cricket on the traditional five-day format. But Taylor hoped cricket has enough room for all three formats to thrive. “Not a lot of people knew what to expect in the first World Cup in South Africa in [2007], but it’s grown a lot. Obviously the IPL came along not so long after. Quite often you used to play one, maybe two games, now we’ve got a five-match series.

“The game’s evolved and the shots that the men and the women are playing make it exciting for people to come along and watch. There’s been a lot of talk in recent times about [the future] of Test cricket and one-day cricket and Twenty20. Hopefully there’s room for all three, and Twenty20 for the next five matches anyway will be exciting and the New Zealand public will be looking forward to a good series,” he said.