Ross Taylor became New Zealand's leading run-scorer in ODIs after he crossed Stephen Fleming's mark of 8,007 during the third ODI against Bangladesh in Dunedin. Taylor reached the mark in his 218th ODI appearance with a single to fine-leg off Mehidy Hasan in the 33rd over.
It was immediately cheered with loud applause and a standing ovation from the University Oval crowd.
Taylor had, earlier in the 28th over, become the second New Zealand batsman to reach 8,000 runs with a trademark slash through point off Mashrafe Mortaza. He has reached both milestones quicker than Fleming, who took 280 matches. Fleming had reached the landmark during the 2007 World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka, which turned out to be his last ODI.
Congratulations @RossLTaylor amazing last 18 months and stellar career to date. Great player that I hope will set the bar high for the next. Well deserved and good luck over the next few months.
— Stephen Fleming (@SPFleming7) February 20, 2019
Thank you for all the messages of support. Humbled to go past @SPFleming7 who set the bar high for New Zealand and look forward to the chance to set it again for those to come.
— Ross Taylor (@RossLTaylor) February 20, 2019
Taylor's average is far superior to the former captain's too, helped along by the fact that he has had only four calendar years so far when his average was below 40. Since the start of 2017, he has been on a different plane as an ODI batsman, with five centuries and 15 fifties.
Fleming's 7,172 runs in Tests, which is currently the highest for New Zealand in the format, is also under threat from Taylor, who needs 650 runs to get past the mark.