Stead plays straight bat on Taylor

Ross Taylor is fond of telling his interlocutors ‘‘you’re a long time retired’’ and the end is a lot closer for the Black Caps batsman than the beginning.

But could it come sooner than he had been anticipating?

As recently as May, ahead of the Black Caps’ tour of England and the World Test Championship final, coach Gary Stead said of Taylor: ‘‘If Ross is fit, Ross will be playing’’.

But after Taylor’s dismal performance in the team’s 1-0 series loss in India, where he scored just 20 runs while facing just 65 balls across four innings, the worst series return of his career, Stead was a little more even-handed.

When asked whether he believed Taylor should continue at No 4, the position he’s held down for more than a decade, Stead first noted the country’s batting depth, then what Taylor had achieved in the course of his 13-year career.

‘‘The thing that’s encouraging for our team is we have more options now than what we did have a year or two years ago. You’ve seen the emergence of Will Young and Daryl Mitchell in particular who have come onto the test scene and done well.

‘‘But let’s not also forget that Ross Taylor has an amazing record behind him as well. He’s been one of New Zealand’s premier batsmen for a long period of time and you don’t lose that class just over one tour.’’

But the reality is that this is not just about one tour. Taylor’s form has been a worry for six series, as well as the WTC final, where he’s gone 24 innings without a hundred – the longest such stretch in his career – and only passed 50 twice.

Nine of his team-mates did better in terms of both runs and balls faced in India, including Kyle Jamieson and Will Somerville, who are nominally bowlers, and Kane Williamson and Mitchell, who only played one test each.

Taylor’s second innings in Mumbai, where the Black Caps lost by 372 runs, was a nadir if there ever was one. Six runs – four of which should have been byes – from eight balls and a horror-show of a dismissal, when he was caught slogsweeping Ravichandran Ashwin.

The most likely scenario is that Taylor will be there in Mount Maunganui when the first test against Bangladesh starts on New Year’s Day, especially with captain Kane Williamson set to be absent resting his troublesome elbow tendon.

Provided Devon Conway returns from the broken finger he suffered at the Twenty20 World Cup last month, that would leave Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra, who impressed on debut in India, as the challengers for Taylor’s spot, and one of them will be in line to play regardless. If Conway isn’t fit, his place should be even more secure.

‘‘I’ve got to get home and speak with the selectors and have a conversation with Ross as well, around where he sees his game going forward,’’ was what Stead had to say when pressed about the batsman’s future at No 4.