Batter Ross Taylor joins bowlers’ club

By Bipin Dani

New Zealand’s middle order batter Ross Taylor, who retired from international Test cricket on Tuesday has joined the Bowlers’ Club grabbing the wicket with his last delivery in a Test match.   

Taylor’s victim in just three balls he bowled in the second Test against Bangladesh was the first Test hero Ebadot Hossain. 

Taylor joins Australia’s Glenn McGrath and Sri Lanka’s Muthiah Muralitharan in taking a wicket off his last ball in Test cricket.

“We welcome a batter in our club. Taylor is a batter and it was fun for him to take the wicket,”Murali, said yesterday morning. 

With Bangladesh trailing by 395 runs, Kiwi skipper Tom Latham enforced the follow-on and his team’s innings victory ensured Taylor (who scored 28 runs in the first innings) had no chance to bat in the second innings, for the last time in his career.  

Latham, however, obliged fans’ demand and brought Taylor to bowl in his last innings.

It was obvious for Taylor to retain the ball with which he took the last ball wicket in his farewell Test. 
Murali, however, is not in the possession of his last 800th Test wicket ball. 

“The said ball is with Mahela Jayawardene. It is with him because before the Test match I had promised him to give,” Murali said.    

Both Murali and Ross Taylor had announced their retirement days before they played their respective Tests.