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There's few more beautiful sights in football than a player finding the back of the net after defying gravity – but who did it best?

Premier League fans have been treated to hundreds of amazing goals since the competition's inception back in 1992, with some of the best players in the world producing moments of wizardry that defy belief. There is one specific type of goal that elicits more joy than any other, though, because of the technical ability and sheer audacity that is required to pull it off.

Instant hero status is bestowed on those that manage to execute a perfect overhead kick. They are rarely seen during normal passages of play, not least because of the inherent risk of embarrassment that comes with the shot selection.

But there is no defence against it when its done right. For a player to get a strong enough connection to beat a goalkeeper with their back to goal everything has to be perfect, from their positioning and timing to their concentration and general poise.

The English top-flight has probably seen more of these wondrous goals than any other league in Europe, and picking out the best of them for a top-10 list is no mean feat. But every so often a return to the archives becomes a necessity.

There will always be those who take to the skies in a bid to write their name into Premier League folklore, and GOAL is here to rank the greatest overhead kicks in the competition's history to date…

10Sebastian Haller (West Ham vs Crystal Palace, 2021)

West Ham supporters never really saw the best of Sebastien Haller, who arrived at the London Stadium from Eintracht Frankfurt in a club-record £45 million ($57m) deal back in July 2019. A modest return of 14 goals from 54 appearances highlights the fact that the Borussia Dortmund striker wasn't settled in England, but one of those efforts still ranks among the best of his entire career.

It came when Crystal Palace visited West Ham in December 2021, as David Moyes' side found themselves in dire need of inspiration after falling behind to a first-half header from Christian Benteke. Haller provided it as he swivelled in mid-air to meet a Vladimir Coufal cross from the right wing, with his powerful effort nestling perfectly into the top corner.

Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita could only watch on helplessly as it flew past him, and it earned West Ham a valuable point in their pursuit of European qualification. Moyes described Haller's strike as a "wondergoal", which was more than fitting, and served as a reminder of his superb natural instincts in the box.

Advertisement9Gary Cahill (Aston Villa vs Birmingham City, 2006)

Gary Cahill is best remembered as a quick, reliable defender who rose to the top because of his impressive ability to the read the game. But the former Chelsea and Bolton star also had an eye for goal. He bagged 28 Premier League goals in total, including a sublime bicycle kick to open his account when he was on the books of Aston Villa.

Villa hosted Birmingham City in April 2006 with both sides struggling at the wrong end of the table, and Villa ended up taking the spoils with a 3-1 victory, as Cahill grabbed their all-important second goal after an incredible leap.

The ball was headed in his direction after an ugly goalmouth scramble, but Cahill's finish was a thing of beauty as he rose to turn home an unstoppable first-time volley. It was a piece of athleticism that no one knew he had in his locker at the time, but it set the tone for him to go on and become a genuine goalscoring centre-half.

8Rory Delap (Southampton vs Tottenham, 2004)

When most football fans hear the name Rory Delap, they think of Stoke City's throw-in specialist who successfully riled up legendary Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on multiple occasions. But the Ireland midfielder was also very capable of conjuring up something spectacular.

Delap delivered his career-best strike for Southampton against Tottenham at St Mary's in March 2004, after going exactly two years without a goal. No one expected to see Delap running into the box to try and latch on a loose ball, but that's exactly what he did, and he had the speed of thought to adjust his body for a bicycle kick after realising it was dropping behind him.

Delap couldn't have hoped for a cleaner connection as his shot then rocketed past Kasey Keller in the Spurs net. It proved to be the difference between the two sides and ensured that Delap will always have a special place in the hearts of Saints' supporters.

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7Andy Carroll (West Ham vs Crystal Palace, 2017)

Andy Carroll was once considered to be the brightest talent in English football. The Newcastle academy graduate was unplayable on his day, a big brute of a centre-forward who caused nightmares for defenders in the air, but injuries prevented him from reaching his full potential.

After a failed spell at Liverpool, Carroll joined West Ham on a permanent deal in 2013, and went on to score a respectable 34 goals for the club. His standout effort came in a 3-0 home win against Crystal Palace in January 2017, which to this day probably remains the best goal ever scored at the London Stadium.

Michail Antonio stood up a cross for Carroll to meet at the back post and he turned his body perfectly to execute an acrobatic overhead kick, which was barely visible as it flashed into the net. The crowd was left stunned, but it came as no surprise to then-West Ham boss Slaven Billic, who said after the game: "He does it in training, although he is normally hitting the post! I am afraid he will get injured when he does it in training."

The much-maligned Ishant Sharma continued to confound his critics by registering personal best of 6 for 51 to help bowl New Zealand out for 192

The Report by Sidharth Monga13-Feb-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Crowe: Ishant was a revelation

The much-maligned Ishant Sharma continued to confound his critics by registering his personal best figures of 6 for 51 – also the best figures by an Indian quick not opening the bowling – to bowl New Zealand out for 192. Most crucial was his morning spell of 9-2-14-3 that helped India turn their morning around after the New Zealand openers had moved along to 23 without any incident. Despite New Zealand’s lower-order counterattack from 86 for 6, the Indian batsmen played stodgily to make sure that didn’t translate into any sort of momentum for the hosts.India had to contend with the misfortune of having dismissed Kane Williamson twice off no-balls before eventually getting him for 47, but spare a thought for Brendon McCullum too. He has been at the receiving end of MS Dhoni’s form at the toss, but this is where he needed Dhoni to call wrong more than ever. He had been delivered the green pitch he wanted, but he had to defend the series lead without the services of Ross Taylor who is away for his child’s birth.Dhoni, though, has now won 12 in a row in completed international matches. He has won every toss on this trip, but not a single match, and needed the best from his bowlers to correct that. They had the conditions to play with, which were even tougher than those on the first morning in Auckland. Almost every ball pitched up either swung or seamed or both. All you needed to do was bowl just short of half-volley length and watch the ball trouble the batsmen. Strangely, though, the bowler who flies in the face of such strategies began the slide for New Zealand.Hamish Rutherford, batting old-style in his new old-fashioned mo’, and Peter Fulton had negotiated seven overs without looking in trouble. In the eighth over came on Ishant, and he began to pitch short of a length. In his second, he bowled an accurate bouncer at Rutherford, who couldn’t get out of the way in time. Fulton reprised his trademark dismissal: neither forward nor back, and plumb in front. Out walked debutant Tom Latham. Eight balls later he had nicked Ishant off, scoring exactly as many as Taylor had in the first innings in Auckland.India’s strategy until then had been clear: Zaheer was doing the holding job, bowling eight tight overs in his first spell for 18 runs to facilitate attack from the other end. However, now we were getting into the crucial partnership between Williamson and McCullum, the duo that had rescued New Zealand from a similar start in Auckland. The two batted with similar purpose here, and Mohammed Shami soon replaced Zaheer.Ishant Sharma turned around another morning for India•Getty ImagesDespite a start here, McCullum soon found out his luck hadn’t changed much. He had added 19 with Williamson when he got a half-volley from Shami, but his manner of walking after hitting it in the air to mid-off suggested the ball still had time to stop in the pitch a little. Williamson, though, is going through a prolonged spell of good fortune. In Auckland, he was dropped pretty early. Here he got a beauty from Zaheer last ball before lunch, edged it, was caught, but discovered after TV replays that Zaheer had nothing behind the crease when he landed. Williamson was 15 then. By the time he reached 23, Corey Anderson was fallen for 24 trying to counterattack and BJ Watling for a duck. When he reached 23, Williamson nearly made it 87 for 7 when he bat-padded Ishant to short leg.Replays showed another act of over-stepping, Ishant had missed out on a sixth wicket, and New Zealand were on the cusp beginning a counterattack. The next 17.1 overs brought New Zealand 105 runs for four wickets. Williamson found freedom, debutant Jimmy Neesham struck 33 off 35, and Tim Southee struck three sixes in his run-a-ball 32. Southee carried that over into his bowling, dismissing M Vijay with a vicious incutter in his first over.Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara, though, batted with discipline, and saw off the new ball. He covered Southee’s swing towards him well, left Trent Boult’s away swing alone, and swayed out of Neil Wagner’s bouncers. Once settled, Dhawan unfurled some sensational shots to run away with the initiative. His cuts from just outside off, the body arching away to make room, were almost outrageous. One particular over of Wagner, when he whipped, cut and upper-cut successive deliveries for four, four and six, would have been a small measure of retribution for that screamer from Wagner that turned the Auckland chase around. In all, Dhawan accelerated from 29 off 54 to 71 off 87.Just when it began to look easy for India, though, Boult came back and removed Pujara with a beautiful inswinger to suggest there was life in the pitch yet. However, the last act belonged, fittingly, to Ishant, who negotiated 16 awkward deliveries to protect Dhawan and Virat Kohli.

Lancashire ended a run of three games without a win in the Friends Life t20 by narrowly beating Leicestershire in a last-ball thriller at Old Trafford.

07-Jul-2013Lancashire 155 for 4 (Katich 62*) beat Leicestershire 151-7 (Smith 84, Kabir 3-26) by four runs
ScorecardSimon Katich finally found reward for his good form for Lancashire in Twenty20•Getty ImagesLancashire ended a run of three games without a win in the Friends Life t20 by narrowly beating Leicestershire in a last-ball thriller at Old Trafford.Michael Thornely hit the penultimate ball of the match for six over cow corner to leave five needed off the last before he was run out by wicketkeeper Gareth Cross trying, somewhat against the odds, to run all of them.Lancashire have not been at their best with the bat throughout their North Division campaign and it was no different here.Simon Katich’s unbeaten 62 off 43 balls underpinned a total of 155 for four, but it had looked like being higher after they had made 43 from the first four overs. Leicestershire’s spinners Jigar Naik and Shakib Al Hasan then barely conceded five runs an over between them and .It looked like costing Lancashire for large parts of Leicestershire’s reply, which was fired by a superb career best 84 off 66 balls from Greg Smith, who also scored a half-century in his only other appearance in this year’s competition.Smith helped to take the equation to 21 off the last two overs with six wickets in hand before Kabir Ali struck twice in the penultimate, including the dismissal of Smith, to leave 16 needed off the last.Kabir, in his best match to date for Lancashire at the tail-end of his career, returned 3 for 26 from his four overs, but it remained touch and go until the final ball as the New Zealand seamer Mitchell McClenaghan conceded eleven off the last.Earlier, Karl Brown had proved his power by slog-sweeping a huge six off left-arm seamer Rob Taylor which almost cleared one of the new two-tiered stands.But Brown did not fill himself with glory later. Stephen Moore was run out following a mix-up with Brown, who later threw his wicket away when he advanced to Shakib and was stumped after an ugly swipe.But Katich, the former Australia left-hander, continued his good form in this competition with five fours and a six over mid-wicket off Josh Cobb’s part-time offspinners. He has scored 199 runs from five innings for Lancashire but his support has been inconsistent.Despite losing three wickets inside the first 10 overs of their chase at a cost of 70, Leicestershire were favourites for long periods with Smith at the crease. But when he offered a sharp low chance to Ashwell Prince at mid-on off Ali in the penultimate over, their chances were already fading away.

ESPNcricinfo previews the opening T20 between South Africa and Australia

The Preview by Firdose Moonda03-Mar-2016Match factsFriday, March 4, 2016
Start time 1800 local (1600GMT)Big pictureWhen this season started, South Africans would not have guessed the most enjoyable part would come at the end. After back-to-back Test series defeats, which would have taken supporters by surprise, the limited-overs’ squads have put smiles on faces with their feisty performances. The T20 side has even raised hope.After winning three of their last four series, Faf du Plessis’ team seems to have ticked all the boxes and thoughts of a trophy will not be too far away. But before South Africans allow themselves to dream of anything like that, they will want to see how their team goes against a side that has often proved to be their nemesis.Although South Africa and Australia have not met at the last two global tournaments and will not meet at this one until at least semi-final stage, South Africans still use Australia as a yardstick. If they can beat their old enemy, South Africa will consider themselves ready to take on the world. If they lose to them, the confidence built up over the last few months will be crushed.Australia know how much influence they can have on this South Africa side and will use that to try and imprint as much doubt into their minds as possible. At the same time, Australia need to create certainties for themselves after falling behind in this format.They have only played eight matches in this format since the last World T20 and are coming off a whitewash at the hands of India but they have beefed their squad up since that defeat. They are in South Africa to show how much stronger they can be and Kingsmead will have a full house as witness.Form guide(last five completed games most recent first)
South Africa WWWWL
Australia LLLLWIn the spotlightIf you believe Russell Domingo and Faf du Plessis, someone should feed Dale Steyn. Both the coach and the captain have described their premier paceman as “hungry,” but the only thing he wants his fill of is wickets. Steyn has spent the last two months watching cricket from the stands, surfing and spending time with his dogs, all while recovering from a shoulder injury. He resumed bowling with his team-mates in the nets two weeks ago, played his first competitive cricket five days ago and will now make his international comeback. Steyn has to get through these matches in order to part of South Africa’s travelling party to the World T20 but all the talk is that Steyn is not just looking to get through, but to make a few breakthroughs as well.At the start of this year, Steven Smith was not even a regular in Australia’s T20 squad. Now, he is their captain. Smith’s rise is complete. He leads Australia in all three formats and has the chance to take them to their first victory in a World T20 – the only global trophy Australia have not won. Smith will have to bring together a squad rejigged at the last moment but, on paper at least, includes hard-hitting batsmen, aggressive bowlers and exciting spinners. Now, it’s to see what their captain can do with that.Team newsDu Plessis has suggested South Africa will play their first-choice team for the series opener which means that even though they will give Quinton de Kock a chance to open the batting with AB de Villiers, it may not be in this match. Steyn is also certain to make a return which could mean no space for Kyle Abbott unless one of the allrounders sits out.South Africa: 1 Hashim Amla, 2 AB de Villiers (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 David Miller, 6 Rilee Rossouw, 7 Chris Morris, 8 David Wiese, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Imran TahirSydney team-mates Usman Khawaja and Shane Watson are likely to open the batting for Australia which may mean no space for Aaron Finch. The top order will be strengthened by Smith and David Warner followed by Glenn Maxwell. Adam Zampa is struggling with a stomach bug and missed Thursday’s training, which may give Ashton Agar a T20 debut.Australia: 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 David Warner, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 James Faulkner, 7 Mitchell Marsh, 8 Peter Nevill (wk), 9 Andrew Tye/John Hastings, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Ashton Agar/Adam ZampaPitch and conditionsSmith asked South Africa’s groundsmen to prepare pitches that resembled subcontinental strips and that may be exactly what he is getting. The Kingsmead surface is said to be slow and will take turn which could mean a low total. Although locals are talking about the rain, the forecast is clear with the evening game meaning temperatures would have cooled from the mid-30s to the upper 20s by the time the match starts. Humidity will remain high, at close to 90%.Stats and triviaWhile Australia are No.1 in Test and ODI cricket, they lie seventh on the T20. South Africa are in second place.However, Australia have the upper hand over South Africa in the format. They have won nine of the 14 completed matches between the two sides, including their only meeting at a World T20 in 2012 in Colombo.Smith has captained Australia once before in T20s – against England at Cardiff – where he made 90Quotes”It looks like we’re ticking all the boxes as a team. There’s no area in our team where I feel it’s a weakness. I feel every gap has been plugged and that’s very nice to have.”
“We want to win every series that we play, hopefully some guys get some runs and take some wickets and we’ll put on a good fielding display before the World T20 in a week’s time.”

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Everything you need to know about the new Barcelona kits for the 2023-24 season

Barcelona and Nike team up once more for another top-drawer kit campaign, as the La Liga heavyweights seek to celebrate their return to the top of the Spanish football pyramid. With Xavi restoring much-vaunted league silverware to Camp Nou, supporters will be ready to celebrate a temporary move to the Olympic Stadium with a fresh fit to suit a champion.

👕 Shop the Barcelona 2023-24 kits at Nike

Nike unveiled the all-new Barcelona 2023-24 home kit on June 15, inspired by the first women’s supporters’ club from 1971 who played the first-ever women’s football match at the Spotify Camp Nou. The new home kit has the classic broad stripes in original blaugrana colours but with a significant detail – the badge set into a diamond. The away kit was unveiled on July 26, releasing an all-white kit for the first time in over 40 years that is inspired by club legend Johan Cruyff.

The American sportswear giant has been the club’s long-term apparel provider, and is extending that partnership across the upcoming season, as the Blaugrana look set to stick with tried-and-tested classic colours for their latest crack at football domination.

So, what new kits will Barcelona wear in 2023-24? GOAL takes a look at the jerseys that are set to be sported by Robert Lewandowski, Gavi and more, while we also give you the lowdown on rumours and leaks alongside details on how to buy them online.

Barcelona 2023-24 kits

Nike unveiled the all-new Barcelona 2023-24 home kit on June 15. The new kit is unique as it is the Club’s first to be inspired by the women’s team.

The home kit features the classic broad stripes – synonymous with Barca – in the original blaugrana colours, the significant detailing coming through with the badge set in a diamond.

The diamond represents the first women’s team to ever play a game of football at the Spotify Camp Nou, an example of Barça’s pioneering spirit, always adopting a leading role in both sport and society, allied with continued success. 

The jersey will feature the men’s and women’s team main partner, Spotify, whose logo is on the front, alongside the Nike logo. The Ambilight TV and Bimbo brands will be on the men’s and women’s first team jersey sleeves respectively. The UNHCR/ACNUR logo will again feature above the number on the back. 

The Barcelona 2023-24 home kit is available to buy right now from Nike, with a replica men’s shirt retailing at £79.95.

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Barcelona has released its first white-away kits since 1979. The innovative design pays tribute to the man who developed Barca's playing style – Johan Cruyff. Based on the second kit worn by the blaugranes during the 1970s. Just like the first kit harks back to the spirit of the Barça Women’s team that played their first-ever game at the Spotify Camp Nou in 1970. The jersey is predominantly white and features red and blue stripes on the sleeve cuffs.

The kit is available to buy now from Nike for £75.00.

As with the away strip, there is not too much known about the finer points of the 2023-24 third kit Barcelona will sport this coming season, though if their anticipated change number sticks to its planned design, it will need a face-lift.

Early leaks and speculation suggest Barcelona’s third option could opt for a colour tone not seen on their alternative options since the 2019-20 campaign, with a return to an aquamarine-eseque hue, alternatively described as mint and turquoise.

Simple block patterns with little deviation bar traditional Barcelona trim are anticipated,, but as it stands, there is no concrete info on both design and collar structure for this option.

As with plenty of other third-choice kits for next season, not much is known about an exact release date, but you can expect it to match the price of their other strips, retailing at an anticipated £75.00 through Nike.

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In line with the expected classy designs of their home and away strips, Barcelona’s 2023-24 training kit looks set to keep the tasteful feel intact, opting for a two-tone number between contrasted shades of grey.

A lighter, soft-steel hue forms the bulk of the main body, while darker, slate-coloured accents cover the arms and shoulders for an impressively deft effect.

The Blaugrana are no stranger to a grey number of course, though it is historically a shade reserved exclusively for their goalkeeper kits, with this season’s change strip for shotstoppers bearing some tonal similarities.

There is no official release date set for the pre-match jersey, but with stock suggested to be close to the shelves, we can expect to see a summer 2023 launch.

India’s batsmen’s lack of positivity cost them the Kolkata ODI against Pakistan, former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jan-2013India’s batsmen’s lack of positivity cost them the Kolkata ODI against Pakistan, former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes. Also MS Dhoni’s approach with the bat in the match – which India lost by a whopping 85 runs, and with it the series – wasn’t right, Ganguly said in a newspaper column.”The Pakistan spinners were exemplary, but what surprised me was the lack of intent to attack on part of the Indian batting,” Ganguly wrote. “They should have played more positively. They came with the mindset that 250 is not a big score, so bat 50 overs and win.”Though the Pakistan bowlers bowled better in this game than they have done [at any other time] in the series, it is important to play every ball on merit and the Indians just went into their shell. They looked like a batting unit short on confidence.”Pakistan had appeared set for a huge total in the match, after a 141-run opening stand, but India’s bowlers managed to limit them to 250. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag made an edgy start but managed to survive, going at about four an over in the first 10. However, just like the previous game, a wicket opened the floodgates and the team was reduced to 95 for 5 in 26 overs.And, unlike in the first ODI, in Chennai, Dhoni was unable to script a batting recovery. While he remained unbeaten on 54, his runs came at a strike rate of 60.67 and he ran out of partners as India were bowled out with two overs to spare.It’s time, Ganguly said, Dhoni moved up the order. “Dhoni continued to bat lower down; he was the man in form and in such situations [with the team struggling] it’s important that the man in form or the captain stands up. He played superbly in Chennai and I still don’t understand the reason why he has to bat at 29 for 5 or 70 for 4, rather than going in at 40 for 1. It really baffles me, somebody so gifted under-using his talent.”The final stand between Dhoni and Ishant Sharma lasted eight overs and the captain farmed the strike, but he did not look like launching a last-ditch, final assault at any stage. He blocked out deliveries and seemed to be coaxing Ishant to play with the utmost care. That was not what was required at that point, Ganguly said: “His approach with Ishant for company wasn’t right. He should have taken on the Pakistan bowling, as it didn’t [make a difference] if India lost in 40th over.”

Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor has said that his team will not be taking anyone lightly ahead of the World T20, adding that “it can be anyone’s game on the day”

Firdose Moonda10-Mar-2014Seven years, and what seems like a lifetime ago, Zimbabwe delivered one of the most memorable performances in a twenty-over match . They upset an Australian side stacked with superstars including Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee in their first outing of the 2007 World T20. However, it’s been all downhill from there.Zimbabwe have since played five other matches in three tournaments and lost all of them. The team have their task cut out for them. They first need to progress from a preliminary round to book their spot in the main draw. It’s not a position a team that regards itself as part of the top-tier of international cricket wants to be in, and you have to hear the determination in Brendan Taylor’s voice to understand why.”We have to qualify,” Taylor said after the team’s arrival in Chittagong. “We are not taking any team lightly. As (Hong Kong captain) Jamie Atkinson said, the gap between associates and affiliates is reducing and it’s good to see world cricket developing. It can be anyone’s game on the day.”From next Monday, Zimbabwe will hope it’s their game. That is the only way they can prove to themselves they are still part of the big boys’ club, even though the cricketing situation in their country suggests otherwise.Zimbabwe have not played international cricket since September, when they hosted Pakistan, as they’ve battled financial crisis. Their series against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan were postponed and a player strike brought the domestic season to a standstill. Their only game time has been a handful of domestic matches and a warm-up game against Bangladesh A. Still, Taylor remained ecstatic – “Our preparation has been excellent and we are looking forward to the challenge.”At least Zimbabwe have the advantage of familiarity. Bangladesh is where they have played 33 ODIs, the second-most outside their country. They’ve only played more limited-overs cricket in India, where conditions would be similar. Many of their players, such as Hamilton Masakadza and Sean Williams, spent time in the Dhaka Premier League as well as the Bangladesh Premier League.It is a country Zimbabwe are comfortable in, and Taylor hopes they can make that count for something. “We’ve been here a number of times, so we are familiar with the conditions,” he said. “It still takes a bit of getting used to, especially from where we come from but we had a good start with a good win over Bangladesh A. They had some good players in there so hopefully we can take some momentum from there.”Zimbabwe’s squad contains a slew of slower bowlers, including the recalled legspinner Tafadzwa Kamungozi, and they would hope they have the horses for these courses. What they need now is to prove that they can still play and win as a team. They may have to remember that match against Australia to do so.Masakadza, Vusi Sibanda and Prosper Utseya all played in that game, while Taylor was the man who engineered the win with 60 off 45 balls. He knows from personal experience that dreams can come true. The next week will tell whether they can also come true for a Zimbabwean side battered by administrative bungling, but desperate to prove they belong.

Ross Taylor’s return to New Zealand colours after his self-imposed break from the game after losing the captaincy has not been easy. He has unfinished business.

Andrew McGlashan13-May-2013Ross Taylor has unfinished business. His return to New Zealand colours after his self-imposed break from the game after losing the captaincy has not been easy. Perhaps a series away from home will give him the chance to finally banish any hangover and begin the next phase of his career.Despite New Zealand’s improvements over the last few months during England’s recent visit, they still need an in-form Taylor to add ballast to the middle order and help give their rapidly improving bowling attack runs to work with on a regular basis. That’s the sort of Taylor who was on show during his last Test as captain when he struck 142 and 74 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.The runs did not flow during the home season against England despite his hundred in the second one-day international suggesting he had turned the corner. In the three Tests that followed he made 94 runs in five innings, then after the series gave a radio interview which made it fairly clear that there were still difficulties. “I wouldn’t say I’m as comfortable as I would like to be, but I guess that will improve over time,” he said the day after New Zealand came within a wicket of beating England.”I suppose I didn’t really know what to expect when I came back,” he told ESPNcricinfo in the build-up to the first Test at Lord’s. “T20 is hit-and-miss and I missed out a few times. In the one-dayers I felt pretty good and got a hundred but the Test series didn’t go to plan. But it’s in my hands to change that during this series.”Following a short break after the home season, and despite a lean period with Pune Warriors at the IPL – a highest score of 19 in five matches – Taylor is in no doubt that he retains his drive. “I’m extremely hungry. I’ve got some goals I want to achieve with the team and also some personal goals,” he said. “If you aren’t playing you can’t achieve that. Hopefully I can tick a few of those off over the next few years.”Ross Taylor has only had one innings in England ahead of the first Test at Lord’s•PA PhotosTaylor has played three previous Tests in England – during the 2008 series – and produced a memorable display at Old Trafford where he struck an unbeaten 154 off 176 balls during which he pulled and cut England’s bowlers to distraction. But Taylor knows that in order to take advantage of the quick-scoring conditions you often encounter in England, batsmen have to put in plenty of early hard work. He will need to use all his knowledge and experience after having just one warm-up innings against England Lions.”You have to be a bit more careful, leaving deliveries that you would normally drive in other parts of the world. It’s always important to work on your defence when you arrive in a place like England were the ball will do a bit. You can’t get away with chasing it the same way you would in other countries.”Taylor’s return to the Test team coincided with a vast improvement in the output of New Zealand’s top order. Hamish Rutherford and Peter Fulton struck hundreds against England while Kane Williamson began consolidating his position at No. 3. The by-product for Taylor was that he had to get used to waiting much longer than had often been the case during his career, and it was not a task as easy as it may sound.”I’ve never really had the privilege of waiting too long to bat,” he said. “In my most recent Test it was about 100 overs – I’ve never had to do that. It was often nowhere near. Hopefully that is something I can get used to. It’s about learning to switch and off while you are waiting four or five hours to bat. I certainly don’t mind having to get used to it.”Whatever the score is when he walks to the crease at Lord’s, it would be a perfect location to spark his Test career back into life.Sky Sports viewers can enjoy a record year of sport across six channels including; back to back Ashes, 116 live Barclays Premier League matches next season, the British & Irish Lions, UEFA Champions League, US Open tennis and every race from F1.