Gareth Copley/Getty Images
Ross Taylor, right, and Tom Latham celebrate England batter Ben Stokes’ wicket at Lord’s in 2015.
Ben Stokes – the Kiwi-born all-rounder who helped England beat the Black Caps in the World Cup final – could have been playing for New Zealand if Ross Taylor had had his way.
Taylor reveals in his just-published book, Ross Taylor Black & White, that he sounded Stokes out while playing with him for English county Durham in 2010.
“He was 18 or 19 and very much a Kiwi,’’ Taylor wrote.
“Over a Guinness, I asked him if he wanted to come and play in New Zealand. He was keen so I sent a message to New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan saying this guy Stokes was a really good young cricketer and interested in playing for New Zealand.’’
READ MORE:
* Black Caps call up Ben Sears for West Indies tour as injured Matt Henry ruled out
* Ross Taylor on the moment he became a millionaire, playing with Shane Warne and putting David Warner in a headlock
* Ross Taylor claims New Zealand Cricket over-ruled his player-of-the-year award
* Ross Taylor claims current Black Caps made racially insensitive comments
But Vaughan’s response was lukewarm, Taylor wrote.
“Vaughan replied along the lines that he could start playing domestic cricket and we would see where it went.
“I went back saying we would have to offer him more than that because he wouldn’t be interested if it meant starting on the bottom rung of the ladder.
“Obviously it didn’t come to anything.’’
Dianne Manson/Getty Images
Ben Stokes of England congratulates Ross Taylor on the Black Caps’ ODI series win in Dunedin in 2018.
Taylor wrote: “Ben was sincere about playing for New Zealand but NZC would’ve had to have acted swiftly and decisively and given him some pretty solid assurances, which Vaughan clearly wasn’t prepared to do.’’
Stokes, however, always seemed on course to wear an England test sweater.
He told Stuff as a 17-year-old in 2009 – a year before Taylor joined Durham – that his long-term goal was “to play for England when I’m older. I call myself an Englishman now.’’
SPARK SPORT
Black Caps fans would have had flashback nightmares as Ben Stokes deflected a run-out attempt towards the boundary at Lord’s.
New Zealand’s loss has certainly been England’s gain.
Stokes moved to England aged 12 when his father, former Kiwis prop Gerard Stokes, got a professional league coaching job in Cumbria.
He joined the Durham academy and progressed quickly to the senior county team.
Stokes made his England ODI debut in 2011, aged 20, and played his first test during the 2013 Ashes series in Australia.
He has since played 83 tests and has hit 11 centuries and snapped up 182 wickets.
Matt Dunham/AP
Ben Stokes, right, and Jos Buttler during the 2019 World Cup final.
Stokes has also played 105 ODIs and is famous for his role in the 2019 World Cup final at Lord’s where England beat the Black Caps in a super over.
England got four overthrows after a throw from Black Caps fielder Martin Guptill deflected off his bat and ran to the boundary in the dying stages of their run chase, which saw the game tied at the end of the 50 overs.
Stokes, who had blasted 84 off 98 balls in regulation play, helped Jos Buttler add 15 in the super over as England claimed the title.
His heroics led to him being nominated for New Zealander of the year but he modestly said that while he was flattered, Black Caps captain Kane Williamson should win it.
Stokes took over the England captaincy this year and, together with Kiwi coach Brendon McCullum, steered his team to a home test series victory over the Black Caps.
Ross Taylor made vain bid to get Ben Stokes to play cricket for New Zealand & Latest News Update
Ross Taylor made vain bid to get Ben Stokes to play cricket for New Zealand & More Live News
All this news that I have made and shared for you people, you will like it very much and in it we keep bringing topics for you people like every time so that you keep getting news information like trending topics and you It is our goal to be able to get
all kinds of news without going through us so that we can reach you the latest and best news for free so that you can move ahead further by getting the information of that news together with you. Later on, we will continue
to give information about more today world news update types of latest news through posts on our website so that you always keep moving forward in that news and whatever kind of information will be there, it will definitely be conveyed to you people.
Ross Taylor made vain bid to get Ben Stokes to play cricket for New Zealand & More News Today
All this news that I have brought up to you or will be the most different and best news that you people are not going to get anywhere, along with the information Trending News, Breaking News, Health News, Science News, Sports News, Entertainment News, Technology News, Business News, World News of this made available to all of you so that you are always connected with the news, stay ahead in the matter and keep getting today news all types of news for free till today so that you can get the news by getting it. Always take two steps forward
Credit Goes To News Website – This Original Content Owner News Website . This Is Not My Content So If You Want To Read Original Content You Can Follow Below Links