Ross Taylor retired from international cricket in April. Photo / Mike Scott
Ross Taylor retired from international cricket in April. Photo / Mike Scott
Black Caps great Ross Taylor says he has experienced racism in New Zealand cricket.
In his autobiography Black and White, which is released today, the Kiwi-Samoan star reveals he faced racially charged "banter" in the dressing room from teammates.
Taylor, who retired from international cricket in April aftera career spanning 16 years, doesn't specify at what level of the game he experienced the racist comments.
"In many ways, dressing-room banter is the barometer. A teammate used to tell me, 'You're half a good guy, Ross, but which half is good? You don't know what I'm referring to.' I was pretty sure I did. Other players also had to put up with comments that dwelt on their ethnicity," Taylor writes.
"In all probability, a Pākehā listening to those sorts of comments would think, 'Oh, that's okay, it's just a bit of banter.' But he's hearing it as a white person and it's not directed at people like him. So, there's no pushback; no one corrects them."
Taylor says cricket is "a pretty white sport" and noted that for most of his career he was "an anomaly, a brown face in a vanilla line-up".
He says when such comments are made "the onus falls on the targets".
Ross Taylor before his final test match to be played at Hagley Oval, Christchurch in the second test between New Zealand and Bangladesh. Photo / Photosport
"You wonder if you should pull them up but worry that you'll create a bigger problem or be accused of playing the race card by inflating harmless banter into racism. It's easier to develop a thick skin and let it slide, but is that the right thing to do?"
Taylor represented New Zealand in 112 tests, 236 ODIs, and 102 T20s between 2006 and 2022 and is one of the country's best players.
He says people in cricket assume he is Māori or Indian because the Pacific Island community is dramatically under-represented in the game.
New Zealand Cricket last night told the Herald they were unaware of the allegations.
"NZC deplores racism, is a staunch supporter of the NZ Human Rights Commission's 'Give Nothing to Racism' campaign, and is deeply disappointed Ross has been exposed to this type of behaviour," a spokesperson said.
"We'll definitely reach out to Ross to discuss the matter."
In the book, Taylor also reflects on losing the Black Caps captaincy to Brendon McCullum under new coach Mike Hesson following a 2012 tour of Sri Lanka.
Taylor was named man of the match in the second test, his innings of 142 and 74 instrumental in securing victory to square the series but lost the captaincy shortly after.
He had previously acknowledged he was not the perfect captain, but said he felt he had improved immeasurably and would have continued to get better had management allowed him the opportunity. In the book he says he lost the confidence of teammates.
"I still don't know how I captained that team knowing half the players didn't want me, and the coach was actively engaged in making their wishes come true. It's a tough thing to say, but I honestly felt — rightly or wrongly — some of them wanted us to lose to make it easier to ... implement their plan."
He says he was made captain too soon in his career, after McCullum had earlier been demoted from the vice-captain's role.
Taylor says he was 'undermined' by senior teammates during the 2012 tour of the West Indies and claims he overheard Jacob Oram - who was a Central Districts teammate - tell Kyle Mills "I told you those f**kers were going to drop you" when the bowler missed selection for the fourth ODI.
“In terms of being undermined, that West Indies trip was actually worse than the Sri Lankan tour when it all came to a head. Some of the senior players would be down the back of the bus talking really loudly to people back home in New Zealand - the likes of Heath Mills - about me and the support staff.”
