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Batsman Taylor will play the full 10-match campaign, starting on December 18, and possibly also some 50-over matches for the Firebirds in mid-December.

Taylor's stint with Wellington will serve as a lead-in to his country's tour of New Zealand which starts in late January.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/60 ... gton-squad

OK, it seems like he'll head there soon after our T20 competition, make a bit of cash, gain some experience, spy for for us and get used to the conditions. With Vusi in Aus, I am wondering if this isn't a team strategy - to give our top batsmen more experience of foreign conditions.

also the domestic comp isnt up to the level required to prepare our best for international battles.

That is great news. He thoroughly deserves an overseas signing. It also makes Vusi look more likely for NZ tour.

Boundary wrote:gain some experience, spy for for us and get used to the conditions

Don't want to sound pessimistic, but this could go the other way too. By the time NZ tour proper happens, the NZ team would have lots of footage of BRMT and would have found out all the chinks in his armour (specially, given the remarkable success he had against them recently)...

Sure, but he has to learn. Taylor has scored 5000 international runs now. There is plenty of footage of him, but he doesn't have much, any? experience of NZ.

This move can be seen in both ways .

1.Someone might say that Taylor will be exposed , his weaknesses etc and this can be against us
2. But if his weaknesses are not exposed , then he will never be the world class player . Let the weaknesses be exposed and let him work on them .
3.Taylor will get acclimatised to the conditions in New Zealand , pitches , players, weather etc
4. I see that he is on the same with Murali , can get some invaluable experience by playing him in the nets . Murali will throw him some wisdom .... he can be a master player of spin
5. The more footage theory does not hold water , Taylor is not a rookie that we need to hide we need him to explore the world .... New Zealand had 2 T20s , 3 ODIs and 5 days of a series to figure him out .
6.Cash.... I hope ZC puts out a window where our best players can go out there and earn a living ( if they are unable to pay them ) it retains players and can give confidence to guys like Ballance & other young England wannabes to know that you can still play for Zim , perform at the highest standard and still earn a living .

Fantastic news! Richly deserved. He is the no 1 import for Wellington and will play all 10 games. Wow

This will be a big motivating factor for all the other zim players out there. If you are willing to work hard on your game and push the opposition surely they will take notice. He pushed NZ not just by scoring runs but scoring them at a frightening pace without eating any balls at all. He has a real impact on the game every time he came to bat.

If Taylor does this against India he will certainly become much much richer than he is now.

Taylor does not have a lot of natural talent but I realize he has improved his game and range of strokes to a great extent since I last saw him by putting in a lot of hard work.

Getting a contract means a lot. It separates the real performers from the passengers.

I dont think NZ will sort him out.
Other than Southee the kiwi bowlers are easy pickings , buffet bowlers. There's Dan but he does not change his line or length depending on the batsman. He simply cant.

Taylor doesn't have a lot of natural talent? Really?

sscricket wrote:Fantastic news! Richly deserved. He is the no 1 import for Wellington and will play all 10 games. Wow

This will be a big motivating factor for all the other zim players out there. If you are willing to work hard on your game and push the opposition surely they will take notice. He pushed NZ not just by scoring runs but scoring them at a frightening pace without eating any balls at all. He has a real impact on the game every time he came to bat.

If Taylor does this against India he will certainly become much much richer than he is now.

Getting a contract means a lot. It separates the real performers from the passengers.

Agreed.

There is a significant difference (for me) between this, and Sibanda's situation. This will be playing professional cricket as an established side's overseas player. This is good reward for Taylor's form, and should be a useful experience for him. It also shows those whose commitment to the national team is in doubt that if you are successful in international cricket for Zim, you will be noticed, and other opportunities will come your way. I'm sure as the overseas player, Taylor will be getting paid more than de Grandhomme is for playing NZ domestic cricket.

It is a shame that he will not be around franchise cricket, as there is a lot that teammates and opponents could learn from playing against the country's outstanding player, but I think in this instance, the good outweighs the bad.

aydee wrote:It is a shame that he will not be around franchise cricket, as there is a lot that teammates and opponents could learn from playing against the country's outstanding player, but I think in this instance, the good outweighs the bad.

Happy for Taylor. He will be involved in a professional setup, earn some 'change', get a chance to acclimatise, assess the conditions which can only be beneficial to his game and he can pass on some knowledge to the other guys. de Grandhomme will no doubt envy Taylor, as should many other losers like him!

I too feel it would have been more beneficial for Taylor(& Vusi) to have stuck around our local scence, but in truth the Rhinos will only play one Logan Cup game in that time, while the second game possible will take place as they into their NZ already so accepting these offers was a better option. Zimdoggy, I think our Logan Cup is comparable to NZ's and certainly of more value than their T20s - which look inferior to our version. Vusi was unwise to skip our T20 competition though, it more competitive - probably was offered less money thatn what his getting to play grade cricket! Flower power is right, the NZ technical team had enough time to study Taylor so we shouldn't be overly worried - they failed to capitalise on his lack of footwork, I doubt it will be any different there.

Contrary to some of the comments which imply this will assist him in the Test - to expect any benefits to accrue to Taylor's game, would be equivalent to saying poor overall bowling performances by Jarvis in the Stanbic T20, is a reflection of the quality of his bowling. By that I mean we should not read anything at all into this, as far as how it will aid his Test performances because as most of you have pointed out - that's a rubbish form of the game which you 'couldn't care less about'.

On the other hand, I've seen many player with highs in the IPL, put out attrocious Test performances soon after that. I only hope the opposite is true of Taylor. After a very poor run against Pakistan, he's been, against NZ, one of the best batsmen not just for Zim but internationally in that tour, so repeating his performances in the Test against the same side would raise his profile even more.