Central Districts Cricket is thrilled to congratulate our BLACKCAP and lifelong Central Districts representative Ross Taylor on winning New Zealand’s supreme cricket accolade — the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal, announced this morning by New Zealand Cricket at the conclusion of the 2020 ANZ New Zealand Cricket Awards.

Central Districts Cricket CEO Pete de Wet said he was sure he spoke for all CD’s cricket family and supporters in congratulating Taylor on a wonderful season, and on winning the Sir Richard Hadlee medal for the third time since its inception at the start of the decade.

“We are extremely proud of Ross and of what he has achieved for the BLACKCAPS, and especially over this past season,” said de Wet.

“We have so many memorable moments to cherish from his distinguished career, and seeing him, this summer, become the first player in history to play 100 games in all three formats was extra rewarding.”

For Taylor, it was a season of milestones for the evergreen batsman as he also surpassed Stephen Fleming’s all-time New Zealand Test runs record, and played his 100th T20 International and 100th Test during a productive summer.

CDCA Manager, High Performance, Lance Hamilton said, “It’s been such a pleasure to watch Ross’s career evolve — from the time he was a young lad looking after the boys in the dressing room when we played first-class games in Masterton, to watching him take the field at the Basin Reserve as he became the first player to achieve 100 games across all formats.

“Through it all he has remained the same loyal, humble, yet fiercely competitive man who always has time for others, and is someone that not only his family and close friends can be proud of, but someone I believe the whole country can be proud of. Ross is a great ambassador for the game that we love — and also, for kiwis in general.”

CDCA congratulates all New Zealand’s winners of this season’s ANZ New Zealand Cricket Awards which also saw Taylor named the ANZ International Men’s T20 Player of the Year, Masterton Intermediate schoolteacher Colin Mann recognised with a national Community Cricket Award for Best Female Engagement Initiative, and former Central Stag, BLACKCAP and commentary legend Ian Smith awarded the prestigious Bert Sutcliffe Medal for service to cricket.

STATCHAT

Winning his third Sir Richard Hadlee Medal puts the icing on a magic season in which our much loved batsman smashed new records, magic milestones, and a feast of scores.

• Ross Taylor averaged a superb 91.50 with the bat against England in the Test series in New Zealand, including an unbeaten 105* and a half century from his three innings.

• In Australia, he produced a Test match 80 with the bat against the Aussies, but most of all his Test summer will be remembered for breaking his late friend and mentor Martin Crowe’s national career record to become New Zealand’s highest ever runscorer (currently, Taylor is on 7,238 runs at a 46.10 average, including 19 centuries, 33 fifties, and 147 catches); and, playing his 100th Test match — just the fourth BLACKCAP to do so; and, becoming the first to play 100 cricket matches for his country in all three formats.

• Taylor averaged an eye-popping 194 against India in the thrilling ODI home series, again with an unbeaten century — 109* — as well as a half century, and was only once dismissed in his three innings of the series.

• Two T20i half centuries, including an unbeaten 54*, from his five knocks in the T20is against India were invaluable, and saw him average 41.50 in that shortest format series. And, he became the first BLACKCAP, and just second New Zealander (after WHITE FERN Suzie Bates) to reach a century of matches for New Zealand in the shortest of the international formats.

Find further information here on all the 2020 ANZ New Zealand Cricket Awards

Watch Ross Taylor talking about some special moments in his career below:

Article added: Friday 01 May 2020