Cricket: No hard feelings between captains present and past

Two men. Two undefeated hundreds. Two big old man hugs.

And why not. Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum and the man he replaced as skipper, Ross Taylor, both brought up centuries and shared in a wonderful 182-run partnership for the fourth wicket which has put New Zealand in a dominant position against the West Indies.

McCullum shrugged off chronic back pain and a run of poor form to smashed 109 to help the Black Caps reach 367 for three at stumps.

Taylor (103 not out) had plenty of his own demons to exorcise. He was controversially replaced by McCullum a year ago and skipped the series against South Africa while he came to terms with the decision.

You might think there would be some antagonism between the pair. They are often pitted against each other in the media or by the public but they have remained close and embraced each other warmly when the milestones were reached.

''We're team-mates and we want to do well for the team and the country,'' Taylor said.

''There is always going to be that comparison with us until he retires or I retire. But we can't control that; we just have to go out there and do our best every time.

''Obviously, it has been well documented that Brendon has been under the pump and it was nice for him to score a hundred after he has been through a lean patch.

''It was a very special moment for him, I'm sure. But our jobs are not done yet. We need to continue on.''

Taylor said McCullum was ''knackered'' after his effort.

''The word he used was cooked,'' Taylor said.

''The pressure he was under, I think he'll sleep well tonight.''

 

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