Former New Zealand captain Taylor described the opportunity to represent Samoa's heritage and culture through the game as a great honour.
What you should know
New Zealand cricket legend Ross Taylor will retire on Friday and play for Samoa. The 41-year-old Taylor, who announced his retirement four years ago, said his goal is to qualify Samoa for next year's Twenty20 World Cup.
Taylor, who previously captained New Zealand, said it was a "huge honour" to play for the country of his mother's birth. "I officially announce that I am going to represent Samoa," Taylor said on social media, "It is not only a great honor to return to the game I love, but to represent my heritage, culture, village and family." He last wore the New Zealand jersey at the start of 2022. Only in April he was eligible to play for Samoa while going from one country to another.
'I wanted to help them in some way, but I didn't think that I could help by playing,' Taylor said in the New Zealand media, 'I thought that I could be trained, I could give training or sports equipment to young players. But I got to play, which I was waiting for.'
Taylor will play in the Asia-Pacific qualifiers for the World Cup in Oman next month. Samoa in Group 3 will play hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea. Nepal, along with UAE are playing this tournament. The participating 9 teams are divided into 3 groups and the top 2 teams from each group will advance to the Super Six.
Nepal and Samoa will meet in the Super Six if they finish in the top two of their group. The top 3 teams from the Super Six will advance to the Twenty-20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year.
