HOT FORM: Ross Taylor ... actions speak louder than words.
Christmas has come early for the Wairarapa cricketing fraternity.
The outstanding batting form of their favourite son, Ross Taylor, for the Blacks Caps in the series against the West Indies has been celebrated big time here.
Three innings, 362 runs and once out.
Figures which not only provide a stark reminder that the 29-year-old is way and above this country's premier batsman in the year 2013, but headed to be one of the greats come the end of his career further down the track.
With 10 test centuries beside his name only Martin Crowe (17), John Wright (12) and Nathan Astle (11) have scored more for New Zealand and it would be no surprise to see Taylor overtake all three before he calls it a day.
Not that you will ever get the former Wairarapa College first XI skipper ever pushing his own barrow.
Hounded by media as to what he sees the future holding, all he says is that facts and figures only count when you pull up stumps.
Much more important is how you perform the next time you go to the crease.
It is this humility that makes Taylor such a class act.
He prefers to talk in terms of "we" rather than "I", something that sets him apart from so many of our sporting stars who like nothing better than to court the limelight at every conceivable opportunity.
There was a time though not so many moons ago when our man was hitting the headlines on a daily basis.
His sacking from the Black Caps' captaincy created an uproar and it spoke volumes for Taylor's popularity that even those who had concerns over his leadership abilities were loud in their condemnation of how he had been treated by Cricket New Zealand, and by Black Caps coach Mike Hesson in particular.
One suspects there is still a lot more of that story to be told, and maybe Taylor will have the final say when the almost inevitable autobiography detailing his career comes out, but the manner in which he has bounced back from that adversity is an amazing tale all its own.
Lesser people would have said "be damned" and walked away from what must at times have been a toxic environment, but rather than take the easy way out and earn the big bikkies travelling the world playing that pitiful shorter version of the game, Twenty20, Taylor has stuck with the ship, and New Zealand has reaped the benefits of his obvious love affair with the silver fern.
Yes, there was the odd hiccup or two as he obviously battled with the mental pressures of being the centre of a controversy he did not create, but the resolve to do his country proud was powerful enough for them to be overcome in a relatively short space of time.
So compelling has Taylor's form been, in fact, that those of us who have been predicting the captaincy of the Black Caps will be offered back to him are starting to think that will happen sooner than later.
The spat with Hesson probably guarantees it won't happen while he is coach but, unless the record of the national side starts to improve dramatically over the next little while, his job would have to be in jeopardy.
And with skipper Brendon McCullum battling injury hassles and still looking like a fish out of water in the five-day game you have to wonder how long he will be around too.
For me, Taylor being captain with his good mate, Kane Williamson, as deputy and another Wairarapa prodigy Jesse Ryder returning to the fold, can't occur quickly enough.
The celebrations will be even bigger then, Christmas or not!