Taylor in good kiwi company at top of Test rankings

BLACKCAP Ross Taylor has joined a select group of New Zealand batsmen after reaching the top ten in international rankings for Test batsmen.

Taylor this week reached number nine on the Test ranking list – making him the first BLACKCAP to reach the top ten since Mark Richardson in 2004.

He has joined a select group of New Zealand batsmen – only 18 others have reached the top ten in international Test batting rankings, and Taylor is the first since Mark Richardson in 2004.

Other recent top ten batsmen include Craig McMillan and Chris Cairns, who both reached 10th place in 2000.

The highest ranking by a New Zealand batsman was Glenn Turner who was ranked number one – the only BLACKCAP ever to reach that accolade – in 1973.

John (JF) Reid, in 1985, and Martin Crowe, in 1993, both reached the number three Test ranking spot.

Taylor’s current points tally of 775 is the fifth-highest ever recorded by a New Zealand batsman.

The Reliance Mobile ICC Test Player Rankings system assigns points based on a player’s most recent performances. A player’s score will vary over time, and rankings are updated after each Test match.

Only four New Zealand players have achieved a points tally higher than Taylor’s. The best of these was Glenn Turner, who reached 845 points after the Test series against Australia in 1974 which saw him score two consecutive centuries and two scores over 70 in the space of five innings.

Others in the elite group include Geoff Howarth, 804 points (achieved in 1981); Bert Sutcliffe, 790 points (achieved in 1955); and Martin Crowe, 776 points (achieved in 1987).

Richardson’s highest points tally was 773, which he first achieved after the series against Pakistan in December 2003.

The list of the top 20 New Zealand batsmen, by their Reliance Mobile ICC Test Player Rankings, is: