For both club and country, Ross Taylor has been on a scoring spree of late. He had a big role to play in taking the Bangalore Royal Challengers to the IPL final last season and also lent a helping hand as New Zealand reached the Champions Trophy title clash earlier this month. After a bright start to his Champions League campaign, Taylor spoke about sharing the dressing room with Daniel Vettori, New Zealand’s Champions Trophy run and old friend Jesse Ryder. Excerpts:

How disappointed were you after losing the Champions Trophy final?

• We were all disappointed; I don’t think we played well enough . We got early wickets but were not able to carry on. We tried our best, we missed a few chances, and Shane Watson batted well. We are not a team that make it to finals often so we are proud of what we did. We hope the mistakes we committed in the final will not be repeated.

How much of a difference do you feel Daniel Vettori’s absence made?

• Losing your captain for a final is always going to hurt. And it is tough to replace a player of Vettori’s calibre. He is the most important member of our side, we weren’t prepared for his loss.

Injuries have always been a big problem for New Zealand, but was it worse this time around?

• We have been unfortunate to miss many players during tournaments. On the flip side, many young players walked in and grabbed the opportunity. We are a small country and we have limited players. One can’t really do anything because of injuries, it’s part of sports now.

... contd.