2 July - Chester-le-Street - New Zealand player Ross Taylor pre-match press conference
Q. Ross, the last time you played England you scored 181 on one leg and won a game for New Zealand in Dunedin and you have spent a fair bit of time at Durham. How do those two factors help you in the build-up to this match?
ROSS TAYLOR: Feels like a long time ago. And Durham was about nine years ago. No, I have fond memories, lovely people up here. Yeah, I think every time we played England in the last little while it's been a great series, I think it came down to the wire in that series back home and the last time we were here was a must-win, I think it was 2-all, and Johnny Bairstow came in fresh and batted out well. Obviously, another big game coming up today, tomorrow sorry, and hopefully we're up for it.
Q. Ross, from your experience here, and from what you have just seen of the deck out there today, what are you expecting tomorrow in terms of how it will play?
ROSS TAYLOR: It was nice to see the wicket. The last two games we haven't been able to see the wicket (smiling). Yeah, I think it will be a good wicket. I think we saw yesterday Sri Lanka-West Indies 300 played 300, so I think we've got to expect that that is going to be something, scores of 300 plus are probably out there.
But in saying that, both teams have got very good bowling line-ups that can exploit conditions if suited and vice versa some very powerful batting line-ups as well.
Q. You know Martin Guptill as well as anyone in this team. Apart from that 70 that he scored in the first game, it's been a bit few and far between for him. Is it a matter of when, not if? And when he does get it again, is he the type of guy that you think will go quite big?
ROSS TAYLOR: I think you don't have to look too far. He was leading run scorer in the last World Cup and he had gone into that last World Cup not scoring any runs. His confidence is down. Sometimes you need a bit of luck and he certainly needs that. But he's been training very hard and the team are fully backing him.
It is a very important position at the top of the order and, you know, getting Guppy firing is a key part to our team and if he can do that tomorrow, it certainly sets the tone for our batting unit and, you know, our power down the order with Neesham and de Grandhomme and, hopefully, not having them to do as much work as they have probably had to do in that last couple of matches.
Q. Ross, what do you make of claims in the British press that Kane is too timid and too cautious? They say he has a sedate style. I want to know what type of leader Kane is and how does he compare to Brendon McCullum?
ROSS TAYLOR: I've got to trust you that that's what they've said, I haven't read the papers (smiling). No, I think any time you are a captain -- I played under many different captains. Obviously Brendon was the extreme and Kane has his own unique style as well, I think.
At the end of the day, you have to be true to yourself and be authentic and more often than not you get the right result.
I think Kane is a fantastic world-class batsman and a world-class captain, you know. You don't have to look far, the last couple of matches. There's some pundits out there saying he was a great captain. We lose a couple of games and he is a bad captain. He is still a great captain, leads from the front and the team respect him and I love playing under him.
I'd love as a team to take a little bit of pressure off him and score some runs and not let him do everything.
But, you know, in terms of Kane, he is a great captain to play under and looking forward to him hopefully continuing that good toss record that he's had over the last little while as well.
Q. Ross, New Zealand racked up plenty of points in those early games. You have had two defeats back to back. Are you concerned you have just gone off the boil a bit?
ROSS TAYLOR: No, I think there was some close matches up the front there as well, and we were happy to get the right result.
I think the game was a little bit closer against Australia than it probably looked. I think we had them under pressure at the start there and we probably, you know, it was quite a tough wicket at Lord's. But yes, we definitely haven't got the momentum that we would have liked in the last couple of games, but tomorrow is a different story against different opposition.
We know we have played England a lot over the last little while and looking forward to hopefully different conditions than the last two matches that we have had to play on.
Q. How are you regarding tomorrow's game? Mathematically, you are pretty much secure for a semifinal place. But are you still regarding it as a must-win game?
ROSS TAYLOR: Yeah, definitely. Every time you play you want to win and go out there and put your best foot forward I guess and momentum is a big part of cricket. It is not the be-all-and-end-all. But we are definitely going out there to win tomorrow and hopefully we can, whatever we do first, we can do well.
Q. Ross, would you play Ish Sodhi tomorrow having seen that pitch?
ROSS TAYLOR: (Smiling) Oh, that's a tough question. Yeah, I think we will just have to wait and see the balance of our side and what we think is needed.
I think if it's a windy as it is today, then playing two spinners is definitely an option.
Q. Ross, what is Lockie Ferguson like to face in the nets, or do you try and avoid him? And is he the kind of bowler that will look at his opposite number, say Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, and will he try and compare pace and that sort of thing, or does he get into that kind of battle, or is it he just wants to knock the batsman's head off?
ROSS TAYLOR: No, I don't think he would look towards the opposition too much. Definitely obviously our fastest bowler in our side and you don't go down the front foot too often and you don't smack him over the head because you know the next ball will be at your head so you smile at him and say, "Well bowled" and just keep pumping his tyres up and they sort of come round here (smiling).
So, when you look over at Guptill and he's smacked him over his head and the next ball is zinging around. No, he's been a great addition to the team and has had a fantastic World Cup and over here again, those wickets in the middle stages are very important and he's been able to do that, got some key wickets in the last match. And yeah, he didn't bowl today in the nets, so that was good, enjoyable.
Q. Ross, you mentioned Brendon was an extreme and Kane was a bit different. Can you elaborate on the differences as captain?
ROSS TAYLOR: You know, Brendon would want to set very attacking fields throughout the whole match and Kane would pick his moments when he wants to attack. I mean, you can talk to numerous people, depending on who you want to talk to, which is the right way. At the end of the day, if you win cricket, it doesn't matter how attacking, or, if you are not attacking, winning the game of the cricket at the end of the day, is our main objective however you do that.
Q. Are you guys aware how much England were influenced by the New Zealand side in the last World Cup and do you have any thoughts about how they have changed since then?
ROSS TAYLOR: Not really. I think in terms -- I don't know the ins and outs. Obviously, Morgs and Brendon have a very good relationship and England, since the last World Cup, have been the form side both away from home and at home. They play an attractive brand of cricket and they trust their batting line-up and bowling line-up to come.
And Archer has added a different dimension and balance to their side. He's a fantastic bowler, but we probably haven't seen the best of him with his batting because he's a fantastic batsman as well. No, I think you have still got to be authentic to yourself and I think they have found a brand of cricket that suits them down to a tee.
And how much of that's come down to us, I'm not sure, but they are definitely playing a great brand of cricket that a lot of teams around the world are looking up and saying, "That's a bit of us."
Q. Personally, your batting. You have had starts, you have had a couple of important 50s, but the big innings has not come round. Where do you feel your game is at right now?
ROSS TAYLOR: Hopefully, not too far away. I have felt good throughout the whole tournament, a couple of strangles down the leg-side and a couple of good balls, that is the nature of the beast and cricket. You know you are not too far away from hopefully getting a few out the middle and getting that confidence up and spending a bit of time.
But sometimes in these situations you just have to do what's best for a team and contribute in any sort of way, whether it is with the bat, or whether it's rallying around the youngsters and trying to pump their tyres up in these tournament situations.
No, I think there's still a long way to go in this tournament and hopefully we are not too far away to playing the brand of cricket we know we can play because we definitely haven't played up to our potential so far and hopefully that is not too far away.
Q. Has any thought come to have been -- you know, what is your preference for a semifinal venue?
ROSS TAYLOR: (Smiling) No, not at all. We said at the start of the tournament, it doesn't matter if you go on as the first seed or the fourth seed, as long as you make the semifinals. Once you make the semifinals, you know you are only two games away. Let's try and concentrate on tomorrow first and then hopefully we've put it in our own hands and we don't have to rely on other results.
Q. As you probably know Brendon McCullum has been a commentator in the last few games and he's regularly calling on the team to be more aggressive. What do you make of those claims? Does the team need to be more aggressive? And what do you make of England after they have beaten India? Have they become complacent or overconfident?
ROSS TAYLOR: I will answer that first one and I lost the last question. Brendon -- I played with Brendon for 20-odd years, as a youngster. He is going to be aggressive regardless of the situation. It is who he is and whether it's gambling on the bus, or commentating, he will be aggressive.
He is fantastic to listen to and watch. But as I said, you've just got to play what's in front of you and we will have to wait and see (smiling). You can ask that other question.
Q. It was about England beating India. Do you think England have become overconfident or complacent since they had that win over India?
ROSS TAYLOR: No, I don't think so. It was a good game of cricket and a big match for them. They know they need to win, but we'll try and focus on ourselves as much as we can and whatever we do tomorrow first we do well.
Q. Back to that question about whether tomorrow's a must-win. Do you believe in momentum in sport? And how important is it to get momentum for a semifinal?
ROSS TAYLOR: I think you just need to look back at a few of my comments over the last three or four years. I always say that word 'momentum' in my speeches (smiling).
Yeah, I think it does play a big part regardless of what it is, but however you make those semifinals, as long as you get there. Tomorrow is a big game for both sides.
Momentum going into that semifinal for whoever makes it is big, but it still doesn't mean if you do lose, you can't come hard and win those last two games.
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