It was an emotional moment for Ross Taylor when he went past the century tally of fellow New Zealander and his mentor, the late Martin Crowe who died in March 2016 of cancer, as the right-hander registered his 18th century at Basin Reserve in Wellington yesterday.

On his way to registering his third double-century in the longest format of the game, Taylor also surpassed Crowe's record for most Test runs at the Basin Reserve after reaching 1226 runs at the venue.

When he reached his ton, Taylor looked up at the heavens and apologised to his mentor for reaching the feat a bit late.

The 35-year-old equalled Crowe's 17 Test hundreds against the West Indies in December 2017, but had to wait for more than a year to surpass the mark.

"I told Hogan [Martin Crowe] 'my apologies' for taking so long to get there. I also broke his record for most runs at the Basin Reserve, so he's probably a bit annoyed with that one," an emotional Taylor told reporters yesterday.

Perhaps Taylor should also thank lady luck for helping make it a memorable day after he was dropped twice when on 20.

His mother, who wears his Test jersey and watches her son play whenever there is a game at the Basin Reserve, was there yesterday in the stands along with other family members. 

"Every time I play, especially here, she wears that jersey," Taylor said.

When asked whether it was his lucky charm, Taylor replied with a smile: "I have been told not to, probably going to have a couple of years left for me so it won't be too long. It's nice for family and friends to be here as well. If you'd told me that I would get a double at the start of the day, especially after how the first 10 overs went, I would have said you're kidding."