British traditions and new frontiers for New Zealand Cricket

Abstract

During a 2003 debate about Maori involvement in New Zealand cricket, journalist Richard Boock wrote: “Apathetic and sometimes-bigoted local associations, costs, the strangeness of the game and an understandable dislike of English colonialism had combined to repel almost anyone with brown skin”. To the contrary, my research pointed to demographic, geographic, socio-economic and other factors rather than overt prejudice in shaping the lack of participation by Māori and Pasifika players. During the years since that debate, there has been a marked increase in the number of Māori and Pasifika elite players in both the men’s and the women’s game, and initiatives to encourage participation at the grassroots level of New Zealand cricket. The broader ethnic profile of the New Zealand game has also been enhanced with more players tracing their origin to the Asian subcontinent in particular. But it remains the case that sporting preferences and progression for Maori and Pasifika are dominated by the rugby codes, netball and softball. Hence this chapter explores contexts and motivations for those who have embraced cricket, while evaluating competing explanations for the choices of the many who have not.