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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

March 14, 2015

Brendon Taylor

HOBART, TASMANIA

Q. Brendon, you are disappointed I'm assuming with the result, but when you came in to bat, was there a sense of freedom that no matter what happened today that you were done with your Zimbabwe career which probably led to your 138 today?
BRENDON TAYLOR: I think being two down pretty early, there was a sense of trying to restore things, and that was my goal, and it was pretty tricky, they bowled really well, and then it just sort of fell into place a little bit. But I said to myself whether I walked out today just to go and enjoy the moment and not put myself under too much pressure, and maybe that just helped a little bit.

Q. Brendon, the innings that you played today, if there is a possibility that if an IPL franchisee offers you a deal, will you rethink that Kolpak agreement, that if you get paid as much probably, do you think you will rethink your Kolpak agreement and come back to Zimbabwe cricket because they need you more than anything else?
BRENDON TAYLOR: Well, my contract is already in the process of being signed, so I don't think I can move backwards on that. But in terms of IPL, I haven't even thought that far ahead. That's totally out of my control. If they pick me up, they pick me up, that's great. But yeah, I just take it one day at a time, and I've got a lot to do when I get home to plan a visa to England, so I think that's already been cemented. But anything else that came my way, I'd be grateful enough to consider that for sure.

Q. Brendon, you thought that your team would have scored a bit more. What would you say about the send-off you got from the huge Indian crowd here and the Indian players?
BRENDON TAYLOR: Yeah, thank you. It's just a testament to their cricket knowledge. I think they just appreciate good cricket and they saw two teams playing some pretty entertaining stuff today. Obviously we knew who they were supporting, but they clapped when we put on a decent show. That was always nice to see. Yeah, I was very overwhelmed the way they responded, and I'm very appreciative for that.

Q. Did you think you could have scored more runs on this wicket?
BRENDON TAYLOR: Yeah, the wicket was a little bit two-paced in the morning along with some very good bowling, but we're heading for 310, 320, maybe 330, and again, that's been the way it's gone for us throughout the tournament, finding some momentum and then collapsing. That's been very disappointing for us. And it's probably been the difference of not a quarterfinal spot. We'll go away very disappointed. But there's a lot of positives we can take out of this tournament.

Q. Brendon, at what stage in the India innings did you think that you had a chance to win this, and are you disappointed with your fielding?
BRENDON TAYLOR: Yes. We've been disappointed throughout. We've dropped far too many catches, probably double more than the second most drops from any other team. I thought obviously that Suresh Raina drop was crucial. Yes, they can bat pretty deep with Jadeja and Ashwin, but that could have been a little bit more pressure on MS, and who knows what can happen. We know how good he is batting with his talent in the past, but yeah, it just shows if you're going to drop a guy who goes in to get a hundred, it's always going to be difficult to win the game.

Q. You've played against Pakistan and South Africa and might have seen Australia and New Zealand. How does the Indian team look?
BRENDON TAYLOR: Oh, geez, they've been exceptional. Obviously to finish top of their log, I don't think they've had too many close encounters. They've been pretty convincing in their victories. They've been playing a lot of cricket, so they've got some good momentum on their side. I think they'll look at it as a one game at a time now, and their main focus will obviously be the quarterfinals and being atop their log. Maybe they've got a fairly easy game, but you don't want to take anyone lightly in this tournament, but they've certainly got the players to go all the way and win it. They've won it before, so they know what that feels like.

Q. Do you reckon that's the best you've batted in One Day cricket?
BRENDON TAYLOR: I think so. Yeah, but if you're not going to win, if you're going to get a hundred and not win, then it doesn't feel so sweet. But I guess a hundred in a World Cup is always pretty special. But yeah, I think in terms of their bowling attack and what they provide, they made it very difficult. So to get through the difficult periods and push on and get a hundred, that was a great feeling. It's definitely up there, but unfortunately it's still another losing cause.

Q. What's the feeling right now inside you? Is it a sense of satisfaction that you ended your Zimbabwe international career with two centuries in a row in is it a sense of sadness, a sense of looking forward to what's going to be for the next three years?
BRENDON TAYLOR: Yeah, there's definitely a sense of sadness. There's a sense of disappointment in the way we've gone about this tournament, sad in a way that I'm leaving my teammates, I'm leaving my home country for a number of years. That's always going to be difficult to comprehend that. But I guess life goes on. You're posed with difficult challenges and choices, but it's a positive one that I've taken, and I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a good ride, and hopefully I can have some fairly decent success over there and try and make myself a better cricketer for it.

Q. What would you say about the role Dhoni plays as a batsman coming down at No. 5, No. 6, and how difficult is it to plan against him as a captain?
BRENDON TAYLOR: Yeah, it was difficult for me today, and it's been difficult for many captains. He hits the ball 360 degrees around the field, so it's hard to put fielders in certain areas. It's just his composure and his mindset. He's done it so many times now I think it's second nature for him. But to be averaging 50 plus batting at 6 is an incredible achievement. Yeah, it was great to play against him today. It's actually the first time -- second time I've played against him. You can learn so much from a person like that, the way he constructs his innings, and it always allows him enough time to build his innings and then explode towards the end a little bit.

Q. India today were 92 for 4, and through the tournament Zimbabwe haven't quite capitalised on key moments. Would you put it down to lack of experience in big games?
BRENDON TAYLOR: I don't think -- I think there's a certain amount of experience that we've got. There's some guys who have played well over 100 games. I think we've been excellent in 25 overs bowling up front. We've done that exceptionally well against every team, and then we fall apart, and I think that's a lot to do with the lack of cricket, regardless of the amount of games players have played. We haven't played a lot of cricket recently. When you start getting some momentum and some games behind you and you learn how to get into these winning positions, that becomes second nature, that becomes a habit. It was tough to try and find that, but I don't know, maybe concentration for 50 overs and bat for long periods of time, and we haven't been doing that. I think I can put it down to maybe just awareness and lack of match game time, I think.

Q. What do you think you'll miss most about being an international cricketer?
BRENDON TAYLOR: Well, to be wearing this red shirt of mine. I guess it's every international cricketer's dream is to put on their country's shirt. That's why we play the sport. We're lucky enough, we're privileged enough to do that. I will certainly miss that. I'll miss my teammates, the camaraderie that we have amongst each other, the good times, the bad times we go through. That's all part of it. Yeah, it's been 11 years of -- I've had it for 11 years and I wouldn't change that for anything. It's been some special times through good and bad.

Q. How did the Nottingham deal come about, and have you thought of the possibility of representing England because you will qualify to do so after three years?
BRENDON TAYLOR: I'm not aware of qualifying after three years. I thought it was longer than that. I got in contact with Claude Henderson, got in contact with me a number of months back, and he knew some names out there, and he put my name forward, and he just said it's nice to have an option, a plan B. So that was the thinking behind it, and Notts were very proactive in getting hold of me and making it work. Yeah, I just want to go there and focus on one year at a time and do my three years as well as I can, and if that gets extended, then so be it. But I'm not planning too far ahead. I want to go there and start well and settle my family down and move forward.

Q. Brendon, when you were finally dismissed for 138, the Indian fielders seemed to run up to you and tell you some messages, and also when you went off the field, it seemed pretty emotional, hugs from your teammates and the rest of the management, et cetera. What was said in those moments, and also what happened after the match ended, the kind of messages you got from your teammates and management?
BRENDON TAYLOR: Yeah, it was nice from some of the Indian guys, Shikhar, Virat and Suresh came up to me. That really was quite touching for me. They didn't have to do that. They're very established players, and yeah, that was a very nice touch that they did, and then obviously my teammates just wished me well and thanked me for the little bit that I've contributed. But it's all been with them, and it's been enjoyable doing it with them. Yeah, it was pretty tough to swallow that, but yeah, it was a good feeling in a way.
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