Four years after he last played for the Black Caps, Luteru Ross Poutoa Lote Taylor is coming out of international cricket retirement to help the country of his mother's birth qualify for next year's T20 World Cup.
Taylor played more games for New Zealand than any other player - 112 Tests, 236 one-day internationals and 102 T20 internationals - but he always believed contributing to cricket in Samoa would be part of his life.
"I always wanted to give back in some capacity, but didn't know that I'd be giving back in a playing capacity," the 41-year-old said.
"I always thought it would be coaching and coaching young kids and donating gear where I could. But being able to get into the playing side of it it's something that I'm looking forward to."
Samoa are coached by Taylor's friend Tarun Nethula, who played for the Black Caps in 2012, and Nethula wanted to add Taylor to the group that also includes Auckland Aces allrounder Sean Solia as they chase a place at a World Cup for the first time.
"It's quite a powerful thing when players are asking you to come out of retirement and help them," Taylor said.
Taylor last played for New Zealand in early 2022 and he only became eligible to represent Samoa in April after the required stand down period from representing a full member nation to playing for an associate country.
He will join his first camp with Samoa later this month.
"There's players in Australia, New Zealand, and Samoa, it's a little bit disjointed but probably no different to the rugby and rugby league where players are coming from all parts of the globe to come together.
"Samoans are a very family orientated people and we'll have to gel pretty quickly but I'm sure it will be a lot of fun."
Taylor did not completely put away his bat after signing off with the Black Caps and has been playing in legends and masters tournaments in India and Sri Lanka and around the world.
Known for his safe hands in the slips, Taylor was okay with the idea that he might be put elsewhere on the park for Samoa.
"I'm no spring chicken but I'm sure I'm still fit enough to run around the boundary, but hiding at short third man and short 45 is probably not a bad thing either."
The difference between playing for the Black Caps and Samoa would be stark for Taylor.
"Everyone's amateurs, the resources and things won't be the same, but at the same time, I'm sure we'll be doing our best to represent Samoa as a proud nation.
"It's still a month or five weeks out of someone's lives and they're doing it for free. You obviously want to represent whoever you're playing with but at the same time it is tough when you're not getting paid for it. A lot of these guys have gone on other tours around the world and it's always quite tough when you're having to juggle family lives and earning a living but also trying to represent the country that you play in.
"I suppose it's no different to what New Zealand players in the 70s and 80s had to put up with. When I played for New Zealand that was my job, I didn't need to worry about that side of it."
Taylor's experience will be valuable for Samoa as he points out "there's not many situations that I haven't been part of in a cricket capacity".
"But passing on the knowledge, summing up situations I guess will be no different to the leadership roles I had playing for New Zealand."
Samoa will be underdogs at the Asia-Pacific qualifying series in Oman in October.
"We have Oman and Papua New Guinea in our pool and then two teams go out of that into the next round.
"So we've got probably the toughest draw. Oman and Papua New Guinea were at the at the last World Cup, and Papua New Guinea were in New Zealand's pool, so it's something that we're looking forward to and we'll be trying our best to make that second round and and obviously make the World Cup in India."
Getting to a World Cup could boost the game in the Pacific Islands, Taylor said.
"For cricket to continually grow and be a global game, they need to keep reaching different destinations. Samoa has had a big influence on rugby and rugby league, not only in the the islands, but with the All Blacks and the Kiwis and in Australia.
"Hopefully this is something that they can continually grow, and cricket can be a slow burn, but I think this is a good start to raising its profile and showing young Pacific Island boys that whether it's playing for New Zealand or for the Pacific Islands that there is a different avenue to go.
"It's like anything when you make World Cups, I think people start standing up and raising the profile and see a different pathway."
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