Even after lifting the World Test Championship mace, Ross Taylor insists he still has more to give to the Blackcaps and cricket.
After finally tasting success with the Blackcaps on the global stage, Taylor has been quick to fend off any suggestion that last week's World Test Championship was his playing swansong.
And despite being at the crease to hit the winning runs, Taylor's Southampton heroics won't be his last in a Blackcaps shirt.
At the age of 37 - and with more than 108 tests, 233 one-day internationals and 102 T20 internationals under his belt - Taylor has little left to achieve on the international stage.
The righthander is New Zealand's leading runscorer in both tests (7564) and one-dayers (8581). In fact, the only real achievement missing from Taylor's long list is a test hundred against South Africa, whom the Blackcaps happen to be hosting over the coming summer.
Speaking from managed isolation, Taylor says he intends to play on for as long as he sees fit.
"A lot of past players tell me you're a long time retired and a lot of them told me that they felt like they retired too early.
"New Zealanders, for whatever reason, probably retire at 34, 35. Once I've gotten to 37, I can understand why they do.
"You get asked the question a lot. Your age comes into question a lot more when you're doing things exactly the same as what you were doing two years ago, but you're doing them wrong, because of your age - which is a bit hard to swallow.
"I still love playing the game of cricket and still feel like I've got something to give to this game - both on and off the field.
"Regardless of when I do pull up stumps, I still feel like I can play domestic cricket. I still love playing for my country and I love playing for Central Districts as well."
As for the immediate future, Taylor's World Test Championship win doesn't excuse him from dad duties, with the timing of the end of his managed isolation stint coinciding with some quality time with his family.
"Probably school drop-offs and things like that," Taylor jokes about his plans.
"I'm lucky, [we're] straight into school holidays, so I've got a couple weeks' grace. [I'll] just spend a bit of time with family and friends, visit the parents and just probably relax for a little bit.
"It's been a very intense 5-6 weeks and then dealing with this quarantine - 10 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes to go. Not too bad."
