Tag: Samoa

New Zealand cricket great Ross Taylor announced on Friday that he was coming out of retirement, nearly four years after quitting, to help Samoa qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

The 41-year-old former Blackcaps skipper said it would be a “huge honour” to represent the country of his mother’s birth.

“It’s official – I’m proud to announce that I’ll be pulling on the blue and representing Samoa in cricket,” he said on social media.

“This is more than just a return to the game I love; it’s the huge honour to represent my heritage, culture, villages, and family.

 

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“I’m excited for the opportunity to give back to the game, join the squad, and share my experience on and off the field.”

Taylor played 450 times for New Zealand across all three formats, including 112 Tests.

He last pulled on the black jersey in early 2022 and only became eligible to represent Samoa in April after the required stand-down period before switching allegiances.

“I always wanted to give back in some capacity but didn’t know that I’d be giving back in a playing capacity,” he told New Zealand media.

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“I always thought it would be coaching and coaching young kids and donating gear where I could. But being able to get into the playing side of it, it’s something that I’m looking forward to.”

Ross Taylor will pad up at the World Cup Asia-Pacific qualifying series in Oman in October, where Samoa are pitted against the hosts and Papua New Guinea in Group 3.

Teams are split into three groups of three, with the top two from each group advancing to the Super Six stage.

At the end of the Super Six, the top three earn their place in the 2026 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

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Samoa batter Darius Visser rewrote the history books as he broke the record for scoring the most runs in an over during the ICC T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Region Qualifier match against Vanuatu.

While batting first in the Samoan capital Apia, the 28-year-old all-rounder, came out to bat at the fall of the second wicket in the second over.

Playing only his third T20I, he started cautiously, scoring 46 runs from 34 balls before he made history in the 15th over, bowled by Nalin Nipiko.

Darius Visser smashed six sixes, during the record-breaking 39-run over, becoming only the fourth batter to achieve this feat. This is also the first instance of a team scoring more than 36 runs in an over.

Visser struck three sixes off the first three balls from Nipiko over-stepped on the next ball, conceding a no-ball. The right-hander made full use of the free hit as he sent the ball over the legside boundary.

Nipiko bowled a dot ball before overstepping again. The free hit ball was a waist-height no-ball, which was also sent over the fine leg for six.

Visser expertly smacked the final ball over the deep square leg boundary, breaking the record with 39 runs in just one over.

Prior to the Samoan batter, Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, West Indian batter Kieron Pollard and Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee achieved the coveted feat of hitting six sixes in an over in T20I cricket.

Meanwhile, there were two instances where a team amassed 36 runs in a single over. West Indian batter Nicholas Pooran helped his side score 36 runs in an over, assisted by extras from Afghanistan bowler Azmatullah Omarzai during the T20 World Cup 2024.

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Before Pooran, in a T20I between India and Afghanistan, Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh joined hands to score 36 runs in Karim Janat’s over.

Visser went on to score 132 runs from 62 balls with a whopping 14 sixes and four boundaries before departing in the final over. He became the first batter from Samoa to score a century in T20I cricket.

Samoa bowled out for 174 runs on the last ball of the innings, however, they restricted Vanuatu to 164-9 to win the match by 10 runs.

Nalin Nipiko, who gave away 61 runs in his four-over quota, shone with the bat as he scored 73 runs from 52 balls.

Meanwhile, Darius Visser also contributed with his leg-spin bowling as he castled Ronald Tari, returning with figures of 1-29 in four overs.

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