Former New Zealand cricketer Ross Taylor says he faced racism

WELLINGTON: New Zealand Cricket said on Thursday they are looking into allegations by former captain Ross Taylor that he suffered from racism.

The 38-year-old, of New Zealand-Samoan descent, retired from international cricket in April after a glorious 16-year career.

Taylor’s comments are the latest accusation of racism in cricket.

In his autobiography “Black and White” published Thursday, the legendary batsman says he endured racist comments from his teammates, but does not specify at what level of the game in New Zealand.

Taylor said that for most of his career he was “an anomaly, a brown face in a vanilla lineup”.

“In many ways, locker room banter is the barometer,” he wrote.

“A teammate used to say to me, ‘You’re half a good guy, Ross, but what’s the half good? You don’t know what I mean. He was pretty sure I did.

“Other players also had to put up with comments that focused on their ethnicity.”

He represented New Zealand in 112 Tests, scoring 7,683 runs between 2006 and 2022.

He was captain of the Black Caps for two years until 2012.

A New Zealand Cricket spokesman told AFP that they have contacted Taylor about the allegations.

“NZC has reached out to Ross to discuss some of the comments in his book, both to better understand the details of them and to offer support. These discussions are ongoing,” the spokesperson said.

“Ross is currently part of an NZC task force looking to improve the game’s engagement with Pasifika communities and his input is invaluable.

“We consider him an important part of our cricket family and we are deeply disappointed that he has been exposed to this type of behaviour.

“NZC deplores racism.”

Last month, an independent review of allegations of racism at Cricket Scotland found that the organisation’s governance and leadership practices were “institutionally racist”.

In June, Pakistani-born Azeem Rafiq said his family had been subject to “threats, attacks and intimidation” since the former Yorkshire man made accusations of racism against his former club.

Rafiq sent shockwaves through cricket when he said he had been subjected to racial harassment and bullying during his time as a Yorkshire player.

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