Taylor won the captaincy ahead of wicketkeeper-batsman
Brendon McCullum after a lengthy deliberation.
He was recommended for the position by New Zealand's
Director of Cricket John Buchanan, national coach John Wright and acting
national selection manager Mark Greatbatch, and unanimously approved by the
board of New Zealand Cricket.
Chief executive Justin Vaughan said Taylor had been “an
impressive deputy to Dan Vettori since taking over the vice-captaincy and (had
been) shown to be a very capable leader when he has had the opportunity.” “The
process to select the captain has been robust,” he said. “We wanted to make
sure the right people were involved and that we appointed the right man for the
job — I'm sure we have done that.” Taylor, 27, has played 30 tests for New
Zealand, averaging 40, and 107 one-day international averaging 36.8.
“I've learnt a great deal about leadership having played
under Dan Vettori and feel ready to take on what is one of the highest honors
in New Zealand sport,” he said.
“I'm looking forward to the challenge and appreciate the
level of responsibility that comes with captaining your country.
“I believe we have the quality in the dressing room to be a
force in world cricket and I'm keen to play the best cricket possible to help
take the team forward.” Vettori was the youngest player to represent New
Zealand when he joined the team in 1998, aged 18. He succeeded Stephen Fleming
as captain in 2007.
All-rounder
Vettori announced prior to the World Cup that he was resigning the test
captaincy and was retiring from one-day and Twenty20 internationals.
