Before the biggest game of his life, Black Caps’ legend Ross Taylor was nearly overcome by self-doubt and anxiety. It’s a common issue for sportspeople but what made this episode unusual was that Taylor, at the time, had scored more runs for New Zealand that any other player. Then 37 years old, he was recognised as one of our greatest cricketers but had lost all confidence in his ability and was a bag of nerves.

“To put it bluntly, I was crapping myself,” writes Taylor.

In the first chapter of Black and White, Taylor recounts a chat with fellow veteran Kane Williamson, the night before the World Test Championship final against India in June 2021, where they both opened up and spoke freely about their fears and hopes. It was completely unplanned but the impromptu 40 minute exchange on numerous aspects of their personal challenges sets the scene perfectly for this book.

Taylor doesn’t hold back. He is willing to traverse tough topics, speak his mind and bare his soul. It makes for a compelling read even if various ex-teammates may find elements confronting, revealing the sometimes dysfunctional aspects of cricket at the highest level.

It's also fresh. Taylor was part of the Black Caps for more than 15 years, setting all kinds of milestones but he kept many things to himself, for various reasons, often understandable. Now it’s time to tell his story and he makes the most of it. The chapters about his early life are fascinating, exploring the unlikely rise of a part-Samoan ‘slogger’ from Masterton to the top of the cricketing tree.

But the centre piece of this tome deals with the captaincy dramas, as he ascended to skipper of his country’s cricket team following Dan Vettori’s retirement in 2011 before being manoeuvred out of the way 18 months later. It was a riveting narrative at the time and is still explosive a decade later. The chain of events, including the infamous hotel room meeting in Sri Lanka, seem callous and cruel.

It reflects poorly on New Zealand cricket (who later apologised) though is symptomatic of the general disarray within the governing body at the time. It also represents the harsh side of professional sport where the need for results eclipses the need for niceties.

Taylor rebuilt his career, with spectacular success, though it feels like the scars of that episode linger. It means that he is refreshingly honest, especially about the conduct or attitudes of some among the management or playing group.

It might not make him popular at reunions but is a boon for the reader with jarring, sometimes scarcely believable, anecdotes. It reinforces the view of cricket as an individual sport masquerading as a team game because so much hinges on personal performance and achievement. Taylor also deals with racism in New Zealand cricket. It’s not a major portion – encompassing around three pages – but it hits hard and adds another layer to his journey.

Along with the heavy sections, there are light. The journey into the peak years of the Indian Premier League – with billionaires and Bollywood intersecting – is a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of the lucrative competition that bankrolls the sport while the contrasting account of life on the domestic circuit as a teenager is equally entertaining.

And Taylor’s long list of superstitions are hilarious; from never eating duck before a match, after scoring zero (‘a duck’) when he consumed said fowl early in his career, to his insistence on a particular pair of batting pants, so much so that he once drove back to his Hamilton home the night before a match at Mt Maunganui to retrieve the right pair.

Author Paul Thomas skilfully weaves in views from those close to Taylor, along with other central players, to offer rich perceptive and context on the man and his career. Taylor was a central figure in the greatest era in New Zealand cricket and retired with an impressive collection of national and international records.

Black and White does justice to his remarkable career in an entertaining and engaging way. It will enthrall cricket aficionados but has the depth and richness for a much broader appeal among general sports fans.

Reviewed by Michael Burgess