Viability, identity, and the 'browning' of New Zealand cricket

Abstract

Although a highly developed country, New Zealand is demographically the smallest of the leading cricket nations. It is also a country in which rugby union has dominated sporting consciousness for more than a century. Over the last decade and more the domestic and international cricket landscapes have also been shaped to some extent by the dominance of neighbouring Australia, and especially so with the popularity of the Big Bash 20/20 league and its parallel Women's Big Bash League competition. Both participation rates and the financial stability of the New Zealand game have been subject to periodic fluctuations. Having said that, since at least 2015 the New Zealand men's team has enjoyed one of its most consistently successful periods in the international arena. Having established this context, the chapter explores both specific strategies deployed by New Zealand Cricket Inc. and its provincial affiliates to enhance the player base and financial viability of the game and also considers broader demographic and cultural factors that have influenced these strategies. In particular, it examines both the growing presence of indigenous Maori and other Polynesian players and the impact of relatively recent migrant groups, and especially Indians, within New Zealand cricket at all levels. While the latter trend is by no means unique to New Zealand, it is undoubtedly having a substantial impact on a game that was long regarded as White, middle-class, and rather conservative.