Former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor is coming out of retirement to represent Samoa, the country of his mother's birth, in a boost to the Pacific Island nation's hopes of qualifying for next year's Twenty20 World Cup.

The 41-year-old, who scored more than 18,000 runs from 450 matches for New Zealand before ending his international career in April 2022, said on Friday he was excited to be able to give back to the game.

Taylor holds a Samoan passport through his mother's heritage and is eligible to represent a second national team at the end of the three-year cooling-off period since his last match for New Zealand.

"It's official – I'm proud to announce that I'll be pulling on the blue and representing Samoa in cricket," Taylor said in a social media post after being named in the Samoan

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