Sometimes Ross Taylor bats better with a chip on his shoulder. The first day of the first test against Pakistan might just have been one of those times.
Coming to the crease at 13-2, without a 50 in his past 10 test innings and having recently been dropped from theTwenty20 squad, Taylor could have been forgiven for harbouring the odd creeping doubt.
He's not built that way though. He's had trots before. He's been dropped before. Taylor has never had any doubts he'll play his way out of them and prove people wrong.
"You want to keep playing as much as possible so it was obviously disappointing," he said of his Twenty20 axing, adding that he felt he still had something to offer in that format.
"I don't think so," he said when asked if he batted with something to prove. "It's been a couple of lean test matches so it was just nice to contribute.
"At the end of the day it's whatever you can do for the team and it was nice to do my part."
New Zealand's Ross Taylor. Photo / Photosport
He's been doing it his entire career.
The morning started for Taylor with BJ Watling addressing the team while acknowledging Taylor's feat of playing more internationals (438) for New Zealand than all those who have gone before him.
"It's not what I play for but it's nice to have got it," Taylor said. "It felt like my 100th test with the crowd giving me a standing ovation."
Taylor reminded New Zealanders that he's one of the best we've ever produced, batting New Zealand into a strong position on day one in partnership with his favourite foil, Kane Williamson. To do it from a tough start in tough conditions made it worthy of a clipping or two in the scrapbook.
"It was difficult early on but you expect that on a day one wicket. It's definitely flattened out and it's a little bit two-paced at times so I'm sure it's only going to get a bit more uneven over the next couple of days.
"The way Kane and I got through that was pleasing but you've got to give it to Shaheen [Shah Afridi], I thought he bowled outstandingly well."
Kane Williamson (L) and Ross Taylor (R) combined for a strong partnership. Photo / Getty
It was Shaheen that accounted for all three wickets, including a beauty to catch Taylor's edge.
The 20-year-old has come on fast as a threat at this level. Of Kane Williamson, who ended the day 94 not out, he simply said: "He knows how to bat here."
Late in the day he had him dropped in the slips and quite probably leg before – they didn't review – which compounded the visitors' frustration.
"He played really with soft hands and that's why they're not carrying so you'll see the slips come forward."
Taylor expects this to be a result wicket and saw enough from Yasir Shah's 16 wicketless overs to suggest spin could play a significant role in the later stages of the match.
