Veteran Kiwi batsman Ross Taylor on Friday claimed the top honour on the final day of the 2020 New Zealand Cricket Awards, winning the prestigious Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for the third time while Tim Southee was named Test Player of the Year. The virtual ceremony also saw Canterbury umpire Kim Cotton's meteoric rise through the officiating ranks recognised with the GJ Gardner Homes New Zealand Cricket Umpire of the Year award. Taylor had a great season, he helped guide the Blackcaps to a second successive ICC Cricket World Cup Final. He surpassed Stephen Fleming's all-time Test runs scoring record for New Zealand and became the first cricketer to play 100 international games in each of the three formats.

The 36-year-old was once again the glue in the top-order, amassing 1,389 runs across the three formats in a season in which he played in all but one of the Blackcaps' 32 internationals, from England to Sri Lanka, Australia and at home. Taylor reflected on the influence of the late Martin Crowe who was instrumental in developing the right hander's Test technique and helping him to set his goals. "I'm sure he would be proud of this. Marty was able to pass on a lot of his experience and wisdom which has played a massive part in my career," Taylor said.

"It was always something that he always pushed me to do (break records). I think he would probably be surprised at how well I have done. But I've been fortunate to be helped by a lot of people over the years and I guess when you win awards like this it's nice to be able to thank them," he added. On the other hand, Southee claimed 40 wickets from eight Tests, including 14 in the two-Test wins against India, in Wellington and Christchurch.

In the four Tests, the Kiwis won during the judging period, he took 25 wickets at an average of 16.40.

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The presentation was made by Hadlee on Friday, on the final day of New Zealand Cricket’s virtual awards ceremony.